Devils of the Sea and Sky
by Sora Tayuya
Summary: Luffy and his crew face a terrifying evil that threatens to destroy them: One of their own. An encounter with Marines leads to burdens, secrets, then the emergence of a legendary, awful power. Post-Thriller Bark/Pre-Sabaody Archipelago. A few OCs. -Under Major Construction 2013-
1. A Child's World

**Author's Note: **The purpose of this chapter (officially Chapter 0 as this was not meant to be in the original plot) is to equalize the chapters once more, as I had previously deleted the original Chapter 1 (because I hated it with much of my soul) and messed up the Alerts.

I did not consider this until a short time later (2 years) and now have decided to do something to get the Alerts working again to alert folks that yes; this story's 10th chapter DID come out.

I will also note here that I am re-writing/editing all chapters of this story, which should take effect in approximately 4-5 months. At that time, the free time I once had the summer and fall of '09 should return (in part) to me, and thus should bring about an eventual conclusion (or at least next chapter) to this story.

Enjoy my ramblings~

* * *

All children are read bedtime stories. A way to ensure that they will settle down after a rambunctious day, and a way to let their mind explore fantastic possibilities impossible in their own universe. Development of the imagination, as researchers have called it.

Yet, though these worlds do not exist by day, the children's minds at night are filled with their imaginings of these places, and of what goes on in them. All the time wondering if they too can do and see the fantastic things the characters in the books can experience and be a part of.

And, of course, like all curious children who must know things, they ask about what makes these characters different from themselves.

"Why, it is because they have special powers, and you are but a regular child." The parent or guardian realizes telling them this may make the child sad, to believe they cannot be special like their beloved character, and so a well-heard question is quickly asked to distract the child.

"If you could have any power in the world, what would it be?" This is the common question that children are asked, and they often respond with varied answers, some comical, some serious, some innocent.

"I want to have the power to fly." "The power to sing really beautifully, so no man can resist me." "I want butterfly wings" "Eat whatever I want" "Laser vision" "Ice breath" "Green thumb" "I want to turn water into soda pop" "Change anything into gold" "Super speed" "Super strength" "Be able to juggle" "Turn into a bird" "To see into the future" "Being really, really smart" "To turn into anybody else" "Time travelling" "To have awesome samurai skills" "To be able to yodel" "Talking to animals" "Teleportation" "I want to be able to turn into fire."

These wishes are simple, or complex. They rarely come true to the children who wish for them, however. These powers seem only to exist in fairytales, in fantasies, and myths to them. When these children, the young and innocent, wake up in the morning, they can leave the story behind them in their dreams, safely stored away until the next night. Eventually, the children grow too old for these tales, and forget their child-like wishes. These too are left behind in the wake of growing up, as all children must do.

Not everyone, however, is able to leave the story behind them. For there are children who are followed still by the story, some for whom the adventure will not end when the sun rises. There are some children, some people, whose dreams of mythical powers and heroic battles follow them into the waking world, whose nightmares follow as well. These once innocent dreams become nothing more than a waking nightmare, a plague, and a torture.

"…_I wish I had the power to do anything."_

* * *

_First there was nothing._

_As it begins for so many people, the feeling of nothingness closed in around the mind, pressing in from all sides as if to prevent a soul from existing._

_Then…there was something._

_Unlike the usual something, a feeling of waking or returning to a place, this feeling was different. It was wrong._

_This was the feeling of confusion. A feeling of distress._

_A feeling of loss._

* * *

**A/N:** Look at me, being alive and all. Proud to say I am part of a blog representing weekly episodes and chapter releases of One Piece, , and sad to say that when I first joined their ranks a few years back I actually had constant and sufficient time on-hand to produce lengthy reviews of episodes in a timely fashion. With luck, that will soon be changing. For the better. So check it out (subliminal advertising much) and enjoy. I guarantee that it is fantastic.


	2. Realization

_**A/N: **__Yeah, sorry that these chapters take so long, but I'm so not used to days in the hundred degrees, so this is really messing up my emotional writing spasms. It's longer than the first one, because it's way more interesting. I don't know when I'll get to the next chapter, because this weather from h- is going to continue for about two more weeks. __But nights are better to write in anyway._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or any Trademarks

* * *

**1. Realization**

_~Six weeks later~_

It was a perfect day on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. Nami was very pleased with herself; after only having sailed on the new ship for five days she was already getting used to the controls and was content to take a relaxing break on the green lawn below, laying back in her favorite lounge chair out in the sun. Having a ship twice as large as the Merry Go was slightly challenging, but the ship handled like a charm and was in superb condition, so Nami was beginning to enjoy this new navigation style.

Robin lay in a similar lounge chair next to Nami, a small pile of historical books on a short table to her right. She had planned to spend the day organizing the new library, but decided (after some persuasion by Nami and much insistence from Sanji) to not waste her chance to relax outside in the beautiful weather. Right now she was in the middle of researching the Florian Triangle, the stretch of sea which they would be traveling through in order to reach Mermaid's Paradise. Robin was glad she had chosen to spend today outside, since weather this nice could be scarce on the Grand Line.

Sanji danced around Robin and Nami with hearts in his eyes, asking if they needed anything, wondering if a fresh glass of lemonade would sound good, and insisting that it was no trouble at all if the two girls wanted a plate of entrees or sandwiches to snack on. After finally convincing him that they were both perfectly content, Sanji went off to check the pantry for the ingredients to tonight's dinner.

Chopper was spending his time with Usopp in the Crow's Nest, where Usopp was telling Chopper one of his usual tall tales of when 'the brave and courageous Captain Usopp and his crew of one million followers dominated the entire East Blue and he had to defeat the evil pirate crew who begged for mercy when confronted by the fierce and savage Captain Usopp'.

Usopp then began describing a terrible battle which he had fought that had lasted 'one thousand days and nights, with nothing left to eat but moldy boots and socks'. Chopper, his eyes full of wonderment and sparkles, listened and completely believed the liar's false tales of adventure and bravery.

The only pirate not above deck at the moment was Franky, who had gone below to restock himself on cola bottles, having used up all his energy in a weight lifting contest against Chopper earlier. Of course Franky won, but he and Chopper seemed to be practically equal for the first few minutes.

Chopper then began to slow down, tiring out, as Franky grinned and continued (with a fascinated reindeer watching him with star-filled eyes) for a good more 600 kilograms. Franky then posed, grinning, and said that that was this limit for colas then let Chopper run off to find Usopp while he went to refill his cola.

Zoro was sitting cross-legged against the main mast, a look of frustration on his face at the sight of his ruined third blade. _D-, I really liked this katana too…oh well. Maybe we can find some deserted ship or something and I can search for a new one…_

The swordsman was anxious to find a replacement sword for the destroyed one; otherwise he wouldn't be able to use his strongest attacks. Plus, he felt almost empty with one sword short, and that irritated him to be having such a weird thought. The sooner he found a third blade, the faster he could feel at ease.

The peaceful sea air was suddenly broken by Luffy's groaning. "Uhhhh…meat...San-jiiii! Gimme some meat…uhhhh…I'll die!" Luffy lay sprawled out on the Sunny's head, wearing an anguished expression on his tan face.

Sanji's face emerged from the kitchen, and retorted, "You just finished your lunch Luffy, so you're just going to have to wait until dinner to eat any more food!" Luffy moaned some more in response.

Sanji skipped over to Nami and Robin with hearts in his eyes, and cried out "Robin-schwan! Nami-schwan! Do you lovely ladies need anything more of your handsome knight today?"

Zoro grunted and said, "Yeah, you shutting your loud mouth for once would be nice."

Sanji turned on Zoro, "I don't remember asking you, Marimo!"

A vein in Zoro's forehead popped. "What did you just say, Dartboard Brow?"

They were at it again, Nami thought to herself. _Jeez…will these two ever learn?_

Franky emerged from below deck and posed in the background, yelling something about 'everyone worrying about where he was and glad for his safe return' or some other nonsense.

Robin smiled to herself, while Zoro and Sanji began to heat up in their usual insults. By this time, Chopper and Usopp became bored, and ventured from the safety of the Crow's Nest down to observe the spar.

"Uhhh…Sanjiiiii! I need fooood!" Luffy contined from the Sunny's head.

Zoro and Sanji were way into the fight now, as Zoro had his katana drawn and was trying to defend against the cook's violent kicks while attempting to slash at him. "Ha! Looks like you're getting weaker, stupid Seaweed Head!"

Zoro flared, "In your dreams, Love-Cook!"

Chopper was by now hiding from the scary looking men behind the girls, where Robin assured him that they would have to quit soon or they would run out of insults anyway.

Usopp meanwhile had climbed back up to the Crow's Nest, and was looking at the surrounding blue sea with the binoculars. "Oi guys!" Usopp's voice radiated from the loudspeakers. The crew stopped and looked up to the outpost, Sanji and Zoro midway into an attack. "It looks like some fog is coming in and…huh?" The sharpshooter's voice faltered for a moment.

The Straw Hats looked around and finally noticed that the sea had indeed begun to fill up with fog while they weren't paying attention. _That's strange, you don't see fog like this in the middle of the day…but of course, this is the Grand Line, and the second half as well,_ Nami reminded herself.

From the Crow's Nest Usopp was choking up with what he saw through the fog. He had hoped that it was just his over-active imagination, but by now even he couldn't deny what was headed straight for the ship. "Oi oi oi! Everyone, there's…there's…" Usopp's voice came out strangled.

"Spit it out already Usopp!" Zoro yelled.

The crew tensed, waiting for what the status was. Usopp tried to catch his breath, and hollered "There's…MARINES! Dead ahead!"

"Nani! Marines!" The navigator panic pierced her words. "Shimata!" Nami cursed out loud. With that announcement the entire deck became a flurry of motion as the Straw Hats began to prepare for their first official battle with the Thousand Sunny. Nami began, "Wakata, at least there's just one-"Another blast from the loudspeaker interrupted her.

"Wait, no, there's…three, and they're…ahhhh! Battleships!" Usopp screamed and panicked, fleeing the Crow's Nest and running around on deck.

Luffy jumped down from his spot on the head, grinning from ear to ear. "Yosh! This is gonna be so fun!"

"Baka! How is it fun that we have to battle THREE freakin' marine battleships?" Nami yelled at the captain, her angry face set on high.

"Heh." Zoro smirked and readied his blades. _Maybe I can finally find a decent new katana on a full fledged marine ship…_ Zoro wondered in his head.

Sanji grinned, and lit a fresh cigarette. "I was getting bored anyway; at least this will be a little more of a challenge than fighting a stupid Marimo."

Zoro shrugged it off and stated, "Huh, now I can finally get a little action in without wasting my time on some loser chef."

Before they could start up again, Franky called out from the bow of the ship, "Oi oi oi! Those marines are gonna be pulling up alongside us any minute!"

Now everyone was at full attention as they caught sight of the fearsome looking battalion heading straight for them. Robin had been expecting something like this fairly soon; after all, the marines were sure to be after them double time now with larger and more powerful ships and men after the little fiasco at Enies Lobby.

_I wonder, _Robin noted, _why they didn't fire at us through the fog and take us by surprise? It would have been easy for them to sneak up and attack from a farther range. It's almost as if they want us to fight them up close._ She had no time left to think about this because just at that moment the ships came up and began the attack.

Luffy smiled, yelling "Yosh! Let's go everybody! Onto their ship!"

"Oh, my I-can't-board-this-scary-battleship-or-I-will-die disease is…oi…Oi OI!" Usopp's fake disease speech was disrupted by Luffy's stretchy arm wrapping around the sharpshooter's waist, and pulling him over the deck of the Thousand Sunny as the he and the rest of the crew leaped onto the lead marine ship. Each Straw Hat member landed separately on the ship amidst the wave of marine fighters who stood above deck awaiting the battle. The marines yelled out, and the battle ensued.

Sanji and Zoro, who had already warmed up from their usual thing, sprang into action and were working together very well to fend off the seemingly endless waves of soldiers who just kept coming at them. Robin was off somewhere bending people in highly unusual positions, where as Chopper had gone into Heavy Point and was knocking marines everywhere. Nami was twirling her Clima-Tact around to build up storm clouds, and then fired of some Thunder Charges into black clouds, resulting in quite a few thunderbolts dropping onto the startled marine's heads.

Usopp was attempting to dodge enemy fire while shooting off flame balls and pellets from his huge sling-shot. Luffy was using Gomu Gomu no Whip to knock the enemies straight off the ship, and was enjoying himself silly. Franky was using his iron fists and bullets, but because of the immense numbers of soldiers left to replace the ones fallen in battle, the crew was tiring out rapidly.

_000000000_

"These Straw Hats are certainly living up to our expectations, but I suppose the fun and games should end here." The captain of the first vessel remarked to himself deep within the bowels of the ship.

_000000000_

_*Whee whee whee_* A siren sounded three times somewhere on the first ship, and the decks of the battleships became a whir of motion with sailors running around and yelling unrecognizable orders into the ongoing battles on deck. Robin immediately noticed the siren, and was turning towards Luffy to tell him to retreat when she was struck by a punch from the left side of her face.

The force blasted her into the wooden frame of a cabin on the marine ship, where she fell onto the deck and gasped in pain. She sat up quickly and as she looked up to her attacker, arms raised to use her devil powers, she was caught by a thrown chain which wrapped around her arms and pinned them to her body. Her arms were now stuck in front of her chest, immovable because of the heavy chain.

Robin struggled against the immense weight of the weapon which bound her, staring into her attacker's unmoving face. She could feel herself becoming weaker with each passing second, but then it hit her. "Seastone chains!" Robin exclaimed out loud, not even causing her captor to move a face muscle. "What the-ahhh!" She cried out in pain as the man yanked her towards the edge of the ship and swung her overboard, not even taking a moment to watch as she fell towards the deep blue waters. Robin's last thought as she hit the water and began to sink beneath the churning waves was of the strange man's face, and how expressionless it was, _as if he were being manipulated…_

Sanji was about to smash in a tough looking marine's face as he heard a siren go off three times, then a moment later Robin yelled out something. He quickly turned in the direction of the scream and saw Robin's body being shoved overboard wrapped in chains. "Robin-chan!" Sanji yelled and began to run. He made it to the edge of the ship where he last remembered spotting her, and dived in, hoping he could make it in time before it was too late.

Nami was taking care of some weaklings when the alarm sounded, she turned to Robin's voice only to just see from the other side of the ship Chopper being grabbed by a strange looking man. Chopper was in Horn Point, and the marine had grabbed hold of his super huge horns with his gloved hands. _Gloved hands…wait, are those…_

"Chopper!" Nami yelled for Chopper, but it was too late to warn him of the danger. "It's Seastone Chopper! Those gloves have Seastone palms, don't let them touch you!" Nami continued, now rushing through the throng to reach him in time.

Chopper had heard Nami's warning too late though, and as he struggled to break free from the iron grip he felt weaker and weaker. His Rumble Ball suddenly reached the time limit, and he was in normal form again. With no energy left to fight back, his opponent threw him very roughly straight into the approaching Nami, cushioning his fall but the force blasting the both of them right back to their ship. They hit the opposite side of their deck hard, and the force of the impact caused Nami to have the wind knocked out of her for a few moments, but she was still too weak from the damage caused to stand as she watched the flurry of motion on the marine ships.

Luffy was pummeling a group of weak-looking guys with his Gattling Gun move when he heard a loud annoying sound, then Robin's cry of alarm as she went overboard. He turned to Robin's direction, "Robin!" He half yelled half choked out just as he received a wicked hit to the stomach which sent him flying into the main mast of the ship. He grabbed his stomach in pain, looking up into the face of a marine soldier who was wearing a pair of odd-looking iron knuckles on his hands. "Oww! That hurt a lot." Luffy rubbed his pulsating stomach where the man had hit him and grimaced. The marine cracked his knuckles, and punched at Luffy again which he dodged this time, expecting the blow.

The man was quick though, for as soon as Luffy sprang away from second hit, the man had jumped to where Luffy would be in the air and already aimed a punch for his head. Since he was in the middle of dodging the second punch, Luffy had no time to avoid this move and was hit with a tremendous force to his face with the strange knuckles. Luffy flew uncontrollably to the side of the railing, and felt too weak to stand up even. The man leaped over to where Luffy had fallen and hit him again, now with a similar iron knuckle on the other hand, over and over into the ship. Luffy lay in the wooden frame of the hole his body had been pounded into, and began to slip into unconsciousness while weakly groaning "Minna…" The marine picked him up, and punched him in the air towards the sea, where Luffy fell, tumbling through the air like a rag doll until he couldn't feel anything anymore but darkness.

_000000000_

Usopp had escaped much earlier from the terrible scene on the battleship and was currently hiding out on the Thousand Sunny when he saw Robin go overboard and Sanji jump in soon after she fell. Usopp then watched in horror as his crewmates fell in front of him, from Chopper and Nami, to even Luffy. Usopp yelled out, "Luffy!" just as Franky turned to see his shaggy black hair disappear off of the side of the ship.

"Strawhat-bro!" He ran towards the spot in the water where Luffy had gone down and dived in to find him in the depths of the sea.

Usopp, seeing that Luffy was being followed by Franky, looked back to the now retreating marine ships. The battleships had surprisingly called a hasty retreat order, and were fleeing the site of the hard battle that had just been fought a few minutes ago. Instead of cheering and making some braggart comment like he usually would in this situation about 'how scared of them the marines were', or 'how they had better run or who knows what would have happened to them', Usopp observed the decks of the fleeing ships with his sharp eyesight, with a confused and serious look on his face replacing his usual fake cocky expression.

_Why are they falling back? _He thought quietly to himself. _They've got us completely cornered, so why are they giving up like this? This is too weird…_ He didn't like the feeling this was giving him, so he began to descend from his post in the Crow's Nest down to where his worn out and injured crewmates lay sprawled across the deck.

Chopper had suffered lesser amounts of damage than most of the crew (other than Usopp, who had left the battle before he had even been able to be injured), so he was busily attending to the most serious injuries, like Nami and Robin's. Just as Chopper had begun to look at the condition of Sanji's badly bruised legs, Franky appeared on deck, gasping for air and pulling an unconscious Luffy behind him. Franky looked completely beaten up, and had an angry look of dismay on his face. Chopper shrieked and rushed over to Luffy, while Franky wandered further on deck and collapsed.

Luffy didn't look good at all, he was bleeding from multiple head and chest wounds, not even to mention the fact that he had slipped unconscious before he hit the water and had almost drowned. _This is horrible…I can't believe Luffy withstood so many hits like this to his body!_ Chopper began working right away; checking the worst looking injuries first and making sure no vital points were damaged.

By now the entire crew, other than Luffy, was conscious. "I don't get it, how did Mugiwara go down so easily? How could this have happened to us?" Franky asked himself out loud, still not over the terrible loss the crew had just been subject to in the hands of the marines.

"Don't blame Luffy, Franky." Nami replied to Franky's question "Those marines had seastone weapons on them; we couldn't brace ourselves for something that sudden." Franky sighed, knowing full well that she was right.

While the Straw Hats began to accept their defeat and discuss what had happened, Usopp stood off to the side. Apparently he was the only one who had noticed so far, and everyone else was too tired or too annoyed at losing to realize the fact. He spoke, black lines covering his eyes as they stared off at the floor. "Where's Zoro?"

Everyone stopped dead, frozen by the words Usopp had said out of the blue. "That's right; I need to check him for injuries, he always…" Chopper's voice faded off as he glanced around along with the others, for the first time noticing that he wasn't on deck with them.

"Zoro…" Luffy faintly moaned from where he lay on his back. Robin thought about the marines actions during the battle.

"They took him… those marines…" She was still very weak from the effects of the seawater and her injuries. "That's why they didn't shoot at us though the fog…they were waiting for the confusion of battle…to take him…that siren, was a…signal…" Nami's face held a look of horror that was reflected upon the faces of Sanji, Franky, and Chopper as they realized what this meant. Usopp spoke, his eyes downcast with sorrow.

"He's gone."

* * *

*Minna- means "everyone"

*Wakata- means "thank goodness"

*Shimata- means "(some kind of bad word)"


	3. Predicament

_**A/N: **__Yah...sorry this is so short, but I figured that since this just explains what happens to Zoro back a little bit, that it was alright to make it shorter. Plus, I really wanted to post it. Also, I wrote this late at night, so any grammar errors I am sorry for, because I think that I checked out all of the spelling, but not sure on the grammar. Also, my 'C' button on my laptop is being funky, and sometimes won't type the letter 'C'. Making for some weird words randomly as I skimmed through it last night..._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Piece or any Trademarks

* * *

**2. Predicament**

_~earlier~_

Zoro and Sanji were on fire today. Both fighters had individually taken down almost one hundred marine soldiers and they were both eager for more. As the battle progressed, Zoro grew more and more impatient, and then finally broke away from the ring of fighters which surrounded himself and Sanji. He ran off towards a stairway to the bowels of the ship to search for a katana, since this would probably be his only chance to search for a replacement for Yubashiri.

As he reached the stairs, he yelled back to Sanji, "I'll be back in a minute, so just don't leave without me, Curly Brow!" The cook didn't respond, so Zoro assumed that he hadn't been heard in the loud commotion surrounding the other man. _Heh, it doesn't matter if he heard me or not._ Zoro smirked to himself as he went further below deck._ As long as I can make it back to the ship in time, they won't even notice that I'm gone. _

Zoro walked quickly through the dark ship, searching for a storage room and on the alert for patrols of marines. The swordman's pace quickened with each passing second, knowing that he had to keep a sharp ear out for the battle above, and trying not to get lost like usual so he could quickly regroup back with his crewmates. His hands rested on the two katana which were sheathed at this side, ready for a fight at a moment's notice.

After coming upon a few empty rooms and soldier barracks he became anxious to return to the fight above, worrying for his crewmates and wanting to know what was happening in the battle. Just as he had convinced himself to abandon his search and turn back, he noticed a final door in front of him. It was slightly fancier than the other normal wooden ones had been, and this one had a pair of swords crossed in an "X" above the metal frame. _I guess if there's going to be swords on this ship, they would most likely be here than anywhere else._ This logic sounded fine to him, so he swung the door inward and tensed himself for a reaction.

Not having anyone cry out in surprise and attack him, he lowered his guard slightly. He peered inside of the dark room, his hands holding the hilts of his sheathed katana. He figured the room was safe enough, so he stepped thru the doorway and into the room just far enough to stay within the small amount of light coming in from the dimly lit corridor.

"How kind of you to join me here, Swordsman-kun…" An unfamiliar masculine voice said from within the darkness. The door slammed shut behind Zoro, and a sound like the click of a lock played in his eardrums. "I've been expecting you for some time now, and it's quite rude to keep people like myself waiting, you know." Katana raised, Zoro faced towards the voice of his unseen foe in the room of which he was now enclosed.

"Show yourself, coward." Zoro challenged his unknown enemy through the blinding darkness. "Fight me face to face." He tensed, bracing for the response.

"My, my. Now, who said anything about wanting to fight? I have absolutely no intentions of fighting you, honestly." The strange voice answered from somewhere in the room. Zoro suddenly felt uneasy; he couldn't pinpoint where the direction of the voice was coming from, and something about this person's tone was chilling to the bone.

"You see, you have been chosen to aid me in something. A…project, I have been working on for some time now. It is quite a great honor to be a candidate, and you should know that it was not an easy selection. Of course, I do wish to test you before I make my final decision, to make sure that you are…up to the challenge." The voice sounded smooth, as thought it had everything under control.

After hearing this final comment, Zoro became annoyed at the strange tone. He replied "That's great and all, but I don't accept whatever-" He was interrupted by a sudden jerking sensation in his arms. "What the-?" Zoro cried out in confusion, and then was painfully yanked forward by invisible strings towards what he perceived to be the center of the lightless room.

"I told you, didn't I? I won't fight you, so there's no need for any swords, is there?" The voice retained the cool tone it had been displaying the entire time, as unseen cords pulled the angry swordsman nearer to the sound as though something else was in control. "No need for your weapons now," Growing closer and closer, Zoro could make out an outline of a figure sitting down with one arm barely outstretched in front of him. As the man said those words Zoro completely lost control of his arms, and a different power that wasn't his own forced his arms to move on their own, reaching down and quickly sliding both of his raised katana back into their sheathes.

Zoro's eyes went wide with confusion as he struggled futilely against invisible bonds which bound his whole body now, as he was ridged and unmovable. _What the h- is going on? I can't...move any part of my body! _His captor smiled wickedly in the darkness, and since he was now close enough to be seen by the swordsman, Zoro recognized him briefly from a very old wanted poster he had glanced at once in a tavern. His pupils grew large with realization as he muttered his next words. "You're…that guy-aughh!" Zoro gasped in pain as he was suddenly thrown up against the back wall, cracking the stone hard enough to cause serious damage even to his tough body.

_I can't believe…that it's a guy like that… _Zoro's last thought as he faded into a deep unconsciousness state. The mysterious man who was sitting there in that room with him smiled again, and sighed out loud. "Too bad, I thought that for a moment you'd put up more of a fight, Roronoa." With that remark Zoro's injured and bruised body collapsed, succumbing to the darkness of his beaten mind. The other man stood up and walked strangely over to the green-headed man, looking over his prize. Content with his plans going just as perfectly as he could have wanted, Don Quixote Doflamingo ran his fingers lightly through his short blond hair and chuckled to himself. _Just wait until you see what I have planned for you next, my young swordsman ...eh hehe!_

* * *

*Nani- means "what" in a confused, startled, or sudden manner


	4. Assistance to Escape

**A/N: **I had lots of trouble with this chapter, first I couldn't think of what to write, then I needed to take a whole six days to think about how to have the new person put. I mean, I could just not have shown their thoughts, but I really want you guys to know more about her character, so it took me four days to figure out how to write the second half of this in a good way that isn't cheesy but shows the thoughts and more about that person. Ok, enjoy. Ha, the OC shows up! She should be the only one…but there may be a mention of more random people who don't go into detail, and probably one more at the very end.

I heard from Franky that it's cool to have a guest speaker, and that a disclaimer is nice...I think I'll add two to my living room wall...*Nami hits me*...or here would do nicely...

**Nami: **Geez...you're as bad as Luffy! Whatever...here's the **Disclaimer**: This baka doesn't own One Piece except for her own character and her future random OC's-

**Sora: **Although my 'taking over the studio where it's produced and getting a job there as advisor to Oda-sama' plan is now in motion...

**Nami: **Sigh...-and never will own One Piece-

**Sora: ***mutters* pessamist...*gets thunked again*

**Nami: **-since the government hasn't found where she's hiding yet, she can still write this fiction in relative peace...for now...But a new guest speaker next chapter!

**Sora: ***crosses fingers* Let it be Luffy...let it be Luffy...

**Nami: **You're the one who decides that y'know!

**Sora: ***looks up shocked* Really! Oh...then it's gonna be Sanji.

**Nami:** Nani? Why-sigh...nevermind. You hang around with Luffy and the guys too much

**Sora: **Ha! *laughs like Luffy while Nami lowers her head in depression* Ja ne!

* * *

**3. Assistance to Escape**

_~a few hours later~_

Zoro awoke to an unfamiliar wooden room with a fierce headache, horrible pain pulsing throughout his body. For a few moments he was dazed, confused as to why he wasn't in his hammock on the ship or leaning up against the main mast. He made a motion to move his left arm to hold his aching head, but he found something was preventing the movement. He turned his head to both sides to look at his hands; they were enclosed in separate iron shackles which were attached to the wall behind him, forcing him into a kneeling position and his arms to be pulled against the wall.

Glancing around the dank room, it all came back to him: the marine battleships, sneaking off below deck, and finally the infuriating man by who he had been captured so easily, without even laying a finger on him. After recalling the last events, as a habit he looked down to his right side where his katana usually were sheathed and wasn't surprised to find that they had been taken. He figured that they were probably locked up in some safe deep within the ship, far away from his reach even if he did manage in some minute(1) way to break free.

Zoro swore under his breath, thinking: _If I ever get out of this mess, I swear I'll break that g-d- freak's ugly_- his thoughts of pain towards the other man were disrupted by a door opening to his far left. He hadn't even noticed that there was a door or anything else in the room; he had been so busy thinking to himself that it hadn't even occurred to the swordsman that someone may come to check up on him.

As the door opened wider, light spilled into the dark room. His eyes unused to the excessive brightness, he was momentarily blinded, but after blinking a few times grew used to the now light filled room. He looked towards the open doorway, half expecting the man from earlier or possibly a marine soldier. He grimaced at the possibilities of visitors; he wasn't exactly delighted at the choices, so when he saw the person who had entered the holding room he was somewhat surprised.

A young girl had walked in; Zoro could tell that she was definitely younger than twenty at first glance, even with his light-deprived eyes. He couldn't believe it, he thought to himself. _Do they really think that I'm so pathetic that they could send a little kid to bug me with?_ He watched as she looked around the room, her gaze finally settling on where Zoro knelt on the floor in his awkward position. He studied the girl in the now excellent lighting coming in from the hallway.

Standing at about 5'5", she had a pleasantly curved figure which showed smooth muscle on her exposed arms and lower legs. Her skin was pale, not sickly though, but complimenting her figure in a very nice way. She was dressed in a white tee with a rounded neckline, barely higher than something Nami would wear. The bottom of the shirt cut-off before her hips, displaying about four or five inches of her slim stomach area and her navel. A Ying-Yang symbol about the size of a fist was in the center of her chest, and her baggy black shorts reached to her knees.

She was definitely young, maybe even more so than Luffy. Her brown hair was laying straight down her back, a few inches past her shoulders. It looked silkily smooth, and he could tell that there were many different shades of brown mixed together; from copper strips to chocolate, and darker to even shiny strands of auburn. Her eyes set off her appearance most strikingly though; they were a calm shade of hazel: a warm brown ring encasing the pupil, then an outer loop of grey-green surrounding and blending faintly where it connected with the inner brown.

Over all this was, Zoro concluded, a very attractive girl. He inwardly groaned at his own thoughts. _I can't believe this. I'm being held captive on an enemy ship, sailing to who-knows-where, not knowing what happened to the rest of the crew, and the only things I can think of are details about a female which that lame-brain excuse of a cook would care about. How pathetic am I? _As this thought played out on his mind, he focused finally on what she was doing.

She stood at the doorway as though undecided as to whether or not approach him. Her breathing was coming quick and shallow as though she had been hurrying, but since she seemed to be in good physical condition Zoro doubted that such a trip would affect her much. Her expression was hesitant, as though she was having an inner argument with herself over a challenging decision. As her gaze settled on Zoro's face, he noticed that her eyes suddenly shifted from a hazel-grey to beautiful green tinted faintly with brown as they met with his.

As this curious change occurred, the girl apparently came to a decision about what she had been previously focused on. Zoro saw the indecisive expression on her face switch to a look of determination, and she began to approach him. Zoro tensed, panicking for a moment as to what she would try to do with him. He couldn't be sure if she was an enemy or not, so he quickly said, "Oi! Matte kudasai, who the heck are you?"

She abruptly stopped at the sound of his voice, _Oh man, what do I say?_ She thought, then with a sigh, she straightened herself out and laid the bulky object she had been carrying down on the floor next to her. _I might as well tell him the truth…_ "I…I came here to release you." She held a key out in front of her body for the man to look at.

Zoro stared at her blankly, then regained his composure and glared at her suspiciously. "Why would you want to help me escape? You obviously want something from me, so the answer is no." Zoro leaned toward the girl a little. "Or maybe that flamingo guy from before sent you down here to negotiate with me for some deal, is that it?" Zoro said the last part with contempt ringing through his words, knowing that this wouldn't be the first time a captor had tried to 'negotiate' with him to get what he wanted.

She looked startled for a moment, then a look of annoyance passed by her features and she retorted "No! No, that isn't what I…" She sighed again, looking a bit flustered. "What I mean is, I'm trying to get you off of this ship. I honestly don't want anything from you, I just…" She paused, and her gaze left the swordsman and traveled downward to her feet. She had a look of sadness, almost longing, etched across her face. _I can't believe I'm doing this… I don't know why I even came down here in the first place, once_ he_ sees what I've done…_

Zoro looked at her and realized what this act of freeing him would mean towards the girl, even if she didn't quite realize the full force of it herself. He didn't know much about her, but he knew that releasing a prisoner and allowing him to escape was a big crime, and that nothing good could await her if she stayed behind. No matter who this person was, he couldn't just leave her here to face a punishment on his behalf.

"Hey." The sudden noise in the stillness of the room was broken by the single word muttered by the green-haired man in front of her. She looked up, towards the still shackled man, confusion in her eyes. "You can…come with me." She started, very much surprised by this sudden change in the man's demeanor. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth. "What, are you deaf or something? I said come with me, so hurry up and get these cuffs off of me before we're caught!" Zoro had his eyes closed with a pencil thin frown on his face, the expression he put on when he tried to not show emotion.

Slowly her face changed from hesitantly suspicious, to hopeful, and then a small grin grew on her face. She reached forward towards him and stuck the key into the first lock. "I have a name you know." She said aloud as she worked the lock.

Zoro opened one eye to look at her as she spoke. "Huh." Zoro grunted in response. After a minute or so both of his arms had been freed, and Zoro rubbed his raw wrists with his hands, enjoying the use of his arms again. Both people stood, and the girl proceeded to dust off her knees. Zoro watched her for a moment, but then remembered his katana. He said as she glanced back up, "Even if I'm free of those hand-cuffs now, I still have no idea where my swords are, so we can't leave until-" He stopped speaking and watched her bend over to a bulky item wrapped entirely in a large cloth.

"Oi, nani-" She had removed the cloth to suddenly reveal his swords. Zoro was startled for a moment, then reached down and gingerly picked up each one: Wadō Ichimonji, his personal favorite and most treasured katana. Sandai Kitetsu, the cursed blade which constantly longed to fight and spill the blood of its enemies. Even the remnants of Yubashiri were there, one of the swords he had picked up in Logue Town along with Sandai Kitetsu; it had been completely destroyed beyond repair during the fight at Enies Lobby. He placed the swords at his right side, enjoying the familiar feeling of resting his right arm on the handles of his blades. He looked at the girl and she smiled secretly. _I don't even want to know how she got my katana back…_ Zoro thought to himself as she stood quietly while he fixed his swords.

"Roronoa, Zoro." She looked up at the man as he said his name aloud, trying not to look at her.

She smiled, and replied "Ta-" The girl stopped speaking as muffled shouts were heard in the direction of the hallway, and footsteps thundered closer and closer to the room. _Oh no…I've been found out!_ "Zoro, we have to get out of here." The urgency in her voice was mingled with fear.

Zoro sighed, rubbing the back of his head saying "Jeez, I really don't have time for this…"

Three marine soldiers burst through the doorway, guns in hand as one of them said "Stand down or-uhhhh" Zoro sliced through them in an instant, trying to avoid the vital organs. A sword in each hand, he stood out in the hallway and looked back into the room where the girl was still standing, looking amazed.

"Sugei…" She said under her breath, _Wow! I can't believe I actually saw that! So cool._

"Are you going to stand there all day or are we going to find a way off of this boat?" A hint of annoyance could be heard in his voice as he tried to get her moving.

"Oh right! Gomen." She leaped over the fallen marines into the hallway and didn't bother to stop as she ran past Zoro down the corridor.

"Oi…oi! Matte kudasai!" He yelled after her as he tried to match her incredible speed. _Man she's fast! I just hope she knows what she's doing…_ The duo sped through the passages quickly, the girl never even stopping to look around. She seemed to know where she was going, and Zoro didn't trust his sense of direction in this situation. They needed to get off of this ship as fast as possible, and he didn't want another encounter with that creepy guy from earlier.

After running up a few stairways, she yelled "I can see light, we're almost there!" They emerged from below deck into the sun, and were greeted by a few hundred marines. Surrounding the pair from all sides, the soldiers had guns, swords, and all other kinds of weapons possible.

"Shimata-" Zoro swore loudly as the ranks pressed in on himself and the girl. Without a third blade, it would be harder to beat them all, but he figured it was still possible for him to win.

"Oh no…" She gasped, trying to not panic or freak out...too much.

Zoro cringed as he suddenly realized that with the girl here he wouldn't be able to focus on attacking, and that was the only way to win in this situation. To protect her, he would have to go on defense, which wasn't an option if they wanted to get off of this ship. A man in a captain's uniform stepped forward. "It's over Roronoa. You have no more hope left. Surrender now and I won't harm the girl. Too much." He grinned wickedly, and a few marines around him snickered dirtily.

Zoro couldn't see any way for escape. _D-, I can't do anything. _Grimacing, he braced himself for an attack. He was running out of options, fast.

"So Roronoa, how does it feel to be-ugh" The marine captain suddenly dropped down on the ground from a blow to the head, out cold.

"Oooooi, Zoro!" A stretched fist had smacked into the back of the man's head. The rubbery arm snapped back into place quickly as its owner followed and landed in the ring of marines moments later, looking at Zoro with a huge grin on his face. "Whewww! Minna!" Luffy turned around to yell behind himself. "I found Zoro!" He turned to look down at the fainted marine.

"Huh? Ossan, why are you taking a nap on the deck? I was gonna kick your a- for stealing Zoro, but how am I supposed to do that if you sleep through it? Weird ossan." He turned back towards the swordsman. "Let's go, Zoro!" The girl and Zoro looked over the side of the railing to see the Thousand Sunny a short distance away from the immense battleship. Luffy finally noticed the girl standing to Zoro's left. "Oi, Zoro… who's she?" He asked suddenly, tilting his head around his swordsman to stare at the girl.

Zoro nodded in her direction. "Luffy, can this girl come with us for now? She can't stay on this ship."

Luffy cocked his head to one side in confusion. "Nani? Why?"

The girl spoke up suddenly, wanting a part in the conversation as well. "I'm the one who saved Zoro, so these guys won't let me stay here anymore."

Luffy stared at the girl for a second, then threw his head back and laughed hysterically. "Oh, so you saved Zoro, huh? Hahaha, I like you!"

Zoro looked at his captain and then at the stunned marines surrounding them. They were coming to their senses, and he knew that they had to act fast. "Oi Luffy, let's get out of here already."

"Oh, Sokka! Ok then, let's go! Back to the Sunny!" Luffy grinned again, and without warning stretched his right arm all the way to the Thousand Sunny, and his free arm around Zoro and the girl. As they were pulled together in the tight bind, they shared the same thought: _Oh man, this can't be good._

"Uh Luffy, I don't think that this is really a good idea…" The girl started, and tried to unwrap his arm from around her waist. She grabbed his arm with her hands, and a small shock went through her body suddenly. A sort of strange look passed by on Luffy's face, but was over in a heartbeat as she let go of his arm. Zoro missed the silent exchange between them as Luffy continued to grin, but turned his eyes to meet hers for a moment.

Meeting the rubber boy's gaze, she looked away quickly, confused. Luffy shook it off, and pretended like nothing happened. _Oh, that was weird…it felt like…? Um…I don't know…for a second. Weird._ The moment passed, and Luffy's carefree look once again came over his features, even though the look didn't reach his eyes.

Zoro unknowingly broke the moment between the two as he tried to convince the boy to let go. "Luffy, cho-chotto matte, I didn't mean-aaahhh!" Both swordsman and girl screamed loudly as Luffy released the tension and they left the sturdy floorboards of the deck to be yanked through the air, flying at unimaginable speeds. Terrified by the speed of their 'flight', she clung to Zoro for dear life…and possibly as a human shield to block the landing.

Luffy grinned even wider as they sped towards the grassy deck of his ship. Right before they impacted into the lawn, she had time to scream "We're gonna crash!" at the top of her already bursting lungs. They crashed into the frame of the main mast, breaking some boards and kicking up dust but not entirely destroying it.

Luffy's rubbery frame lessened the fall for her and Zoro: he had blown himself up like a balloon as soon as they made contact, which cushioned the force of impact. Luffy bounced up from the now debris cluttered deck and yelled "Yosh! Let's go again!"

Zoro heaved himself up from the wreckage and angrily yelled at Luffy, "Not in a million years!"

Now that they had recovered their missing crewmember, the Strawhats pulled away from the larger ship and with Nami's sharp navigation skills, were soon out of reach from the battleship's cannons. After a few minutes of giving chase to the fleeing pirate ship, the marines lost sight of them. By this time the injured captain had regained consciousness, and was yelling insults to his crew about letting the pirates escape. "I can't believe you let one man and a little girl get the best of you! How disgraceful, horrible, weak-" He ranted on and on for a few more moments, then stormed off beneath the ship, with a last order to the crow's nest to keep a sharp eye out for them in case they were spotted.

The man strode quickly through the dimly lit corridor; his mind conflicted with decisions as what to do next. _I have to report this loss to Marine Headquarters. A feat of this size could get me in a terrible position though, even demoted! _Immersed in his own frustrated thoughts, he burst through the doors to the captain's quarters and stopped dead.

Sitting cross-legged on his desk was a skinny blond man. He had on thinly curled purple sunglasses with white frames, an orange shirt with black swirls covering the front, reddish-brown pants and a largely puffed up flamingo feather jacket. _No, no! It can't be!_ "Do-Doflamingo-sama." The marine halted and immediately saluted the figure. "What are you-agghhhh!"

The marine was stifled by his own arm, reaching as if by its own accord, wrapping his right hand around his own neck and squeezing. "I heard that you let Roronoa Zoro escape, right from under your nose, captain_._" The man being addressed was still strangling himself, trying to tear his hand away from his throat while staring horrified at the man in front of him. Doflamingo continued, unfazed by the man's situation, in a tone which sounded as though he was hearing a particularly good joke. "After I specifically told you to set a trap for that man and bring him to me, you let him escape." The marine's eyes were huge now, without oxygen he was beginning to suffocate. "Then," the marine's hand tightened around his throat, ", you allow the girl who I specially ordered you to watch for me... escape to the Straw Hat's ship with Roronoa."

His face was blue now, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets with the lack of air. Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, he collapsed onto the floor, barely alive. Doflamingo looked down to the man struggling on the ground with an amused smile on his sharp features. "Die."

~_Crack_~

The man's neck snapped and he lay on the floor of the cabin, dead by his own hand. The living man on the desk lowered his outstretched hand down to his knee, then proceeded to ignore the body and lifted himself off of the desk onto the floor. "Heh." Doflamingo grinned to himself, then said aloud "Oh well, they've met. At least things can get a little more interesting, before the end." Not even looking at the dead marine, the dangerous Shichibukai left the dark room and strode smoothly down the passageway. _Your pathetic want for kindness will be your downfall, girl. Yours, your ridiculous friend's, and that swordsman's._ He laughed out-loud to himself. "Just wait until I feel like getting serious, girly. Once that power is found out by those pirates you're with, no one will want you. Then I'll just take you and Roronoa back-

-for good."

* * *

(1)-pronounced 'my-newt'; "minute" in this case means 'extremely small' ( if you don't believe me, look it up in the dictionary)

*Matte kudasai- means "wait a second"


	5. Name of the Game

**A/N: **OK, so I was bad and edited this chapter with the addition of Brooke, cus I'll OFFICIALLY UP-TO-DATE with the Anime (the bad part was starting a new thing right in the middle of my already written fifth chapter, it is soo long that it was +4,800 some words. Also, I couldn't wait so see what Ace-kun's fate was, so I updated myself on every single manga from episode 416 up. In one night. That was the bad part.) Also, I am failing Trig. That is my excellent excuse for not posting this sooner.

No, I am failing Trig, cus I changed schools this summer, and the old geometry i had in my old school didn't cover what the learned last year here. So, I'm failing. Until I stop failing, I will probably be in a bad mood. Ok, the next one will defintly be up sooner, cus hahaha I already wrote half of it. Excactly what I did was I wrote a 3,600 word fifth chapter, then decided to make it excatly before Shabondy and the mermaid...so I looked over my old chapters...can't change those durastically...so I went and started at about the middle of my finished and unposted chapter and wrote in new junk.

**Sanji: **Oh, Mellorine! Your lovely voice is like a million song birds-

**Sora: **That's nice Sanji, but you really shouldn't say such things about me.

**Sanji: **How can I not, when it is all true!

**Sora: **Awww! How sweet!

**Sanji: **As the beautiful lady wishes, here is the **Disclaimer** today: Sora-chan does not *currently* own One Piece or it's characters- I would looovve to be owned by her if the choice was mine! -but for now, she only owns herself...*sobs with head down* But I shall never let you be alone, by lady!*gets heartsy again*

**Sora: **As much as I would listen to your praise like some self-obsessed chick who wants to make guys praise her...I can't let you continue. My *sigh* dreamy guy I have a crush on will kick your butt.

**Sanji: ***huge dejected look* Nani! Who's the f- b-? I'll kick his a- and then-

**Sora: **Ha! The suspence will continue til next week, when I invite *coff, coff, order* the next speaker, you will see. Only who are *coff coff ordered* get to come next week.

**Sanji: **Nani? Demo...Sora-chan...*really pitiful look on his face, like whiny*

**Sora: **Gomen! Just wait until next week.*Luffy grin*

* * *

**4. Name of the Game**

_~one hour later~_

"So, who are _you_ supposed to be?"

Nami's question towards the girl was the first thing she had heard anyone say directly to her after Luffy had crash-landed on the grassy lawn of the ship; they had all been too busy fleeing the battleships to worry about the extra person the boy had picked up. Nami was staring into the face of the younger girl at close range, a smile on her face with true interest shining in her bright eyes. After losing the marines, the crew of the Thousand Sunny was finally able to converse with their freed swordsman; exchanging information and informing the escapee on the happenings after Zoro was discovered missing.

Once the initial shock of Zoro's disappearance had passed, the crew readied itself quickly for a counter-attack to reclaim their stolen crewmember. Nami's superb navigation skills proved invaluable in tracking the fleet as the Straw Hats gave chase, impatiently awaiting sight of the ship which held their green-haired nakama. Upon awakening, Luffy had been filled in on Zoro's situation. He sat up on the head of the Sunny for the entire length of time they spent tracking the enemy ship, not even leaving on the offer of food. His eyes were set straight forward, not moving in the least until they spotted the opposing vessel. Now that Zoro had been returned, the atmosphere on the ship was vibrant and lively, compared to the depressing loom which had hung over the heads of the crew while he was gone. After losing sight of the marines at long last, they could finally inspect their newest passenger.

Upon spotting Zoro with Luffy, Chopper cried out and rushed over to tend to his heavily injured body. The rest of the crew followed the little reindeer shortly, without the screaming. While Chopper tended to the hurt teen, Usopp and Franky, closely following a curious Nami and an excitedly love-sick Sanji, wandered over to where Zoro sat cross-legged next to the kneeling girl. Robin stood off to the side calmly observing the scene with an interested expression, while as Luffy was sitting straight across from where the girl sat on deck, staring at her with an interested look on his face.

"Well?" Nami questioned. The girl looked up into the expectant face of the orange-haired girl, snapping her focus away from where she had been previously staring intently at the numerous pockets covering her shorts. She looked uneasy, as though telling the truth was a challenge.

_What the heck. It's not like I have anything to lose. _She looked around at the Straw Hats surrounding her, and said "I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, mainly because I am a terrible liar." Smiling faintly, she said "…Tayuya Sora. That's my name, and the reason I was on a Marine ship… was because that man took me from the island I was staying at." Some of the crew gasped at her response.

"So he, like took you by force? Like a hostage or something?" Franky inquired.

"Who was this mysterious man?" Robin calmly asked Sora. "It would take quite a lot of effort to be able to abduct Swordsman-san, right from under us." Zoro looked over from where he was sitting, much to Chopper's protests, and replied to Robin's question.

"He was. That f- b- did something to me so I couldn't move, then threw me up against a wall …without even laying a finger on me." The rest of the crew looked at the man in fear, almost disbelieving the tale. "It felt weird, like something was controlling my body…" Zoro said with an angry grimace on his face, his fist clenched against the grass. "He seemed familiar too, like I've seen his face from some old wanted poster or something." He narrowed his eyes, trying to once again remember the brief flash of pink he recalled from earlier.

"A man controlling people without touch…" Robin looked thoughtful, mulling over the new information with a serious expression.

"I…I know his name." Everyone turned to look at Sora. "I can't tell you now though. I'll be back." Everyone stared, her words incredulous to their ears. "I promise I'll be back, this is just…something I can do. I'll see you all again in exactly one week though, ok?"

Zoro looked up, saying "What do you mean, are you leaving or something?"

Sora half smiled and replied, "Well, technically no…I'll explain when I get back."

Luffy began to pout, and whined "Awww! Naaa-nii? Why do you have to go?"

She smiled faintly in reply and then...

She was gone.

_000000000_

* * *

"NANI?"

The crew hollered simultaneously, their eyes bulging out in disbelief. She just disappeared right before all of their eyes.

"Oi oi oi!" Usopp and Chopper yelled together, but Luffy's eyes popped out of his head.

"Sugei!" Stars formed where his eyes should have been.

"Oh my…" Robin exclaimed with a half bemused half startled expression, while Sanji held a look of horrified grief at her sudden departure.

"What the-?" Zoro exclaimed, while Franky's jaw hit the deck.

Nami's face held a look of disbelief as she angrily yelled "What just happened?" Robin recovered herself faster than the rest of the crew and answered Nami's undirected question.

"Hmm…most mysterious, this Sora-san. Perhaps she has the powers of a devil fruit?" The archeologist inquired thoughtfully.

"I trust her. She'll be back, she promised. Let's just wait till she gets back then." Luffy said suddenly, a trusting expression on his bright face. His sudden serious tone startled the rest of the crew out of their stupors somewhat. It was quite occasional that their immature captain spoke so...seriously.

Then, with a big grin he ruined the moment by yelling, "Yosh! Let's go eat!" The rest of the shipmates regained themselves a little after hearing Robin's sensible words and their captain's vote of confidence, but Nami was still doubtful.

"Where did she go then? We just met this person, for all we know, she could be an enemy!" Nami protested, but Luffy wasn't listening at all. He had completely engrossed himself in annoying Sanji for more meat, and with nothing better to do now that the new girl was gone, the cook hauled Luffy down to the kitchen to take his mind off of the pretty maiden that had vanished. Usopp and Franky hurried after them, figuring that they needed food as well after that ordeal and that if they didn't run that Luffy would have eaten it all before they even got there. Chopper stayed above deck with Robin and Nami so that he could finish treating Zoro, who still had not moved from his cross-legged position.

Nami let out a pitiful whiny moan at her captain's ridiculously trustful nature and let her arms and head hang down dejectedly, while Robin smiled faintly to herself.

"She's not an enemy."

All three sets of eyes turned down towards the injured swordsman as he spoke from where he sat. Nami turned on him, annoyed, and arguing "And how would you know? From what you told us, you've only spent fifteen minutes more with that girl than the rest of us. What if she wanted to get you away from the marines just so that you could lead her to the rest of us, huh? What if she's a bounty hunter, or-"

"She's not!" Zoro's fierce protest startled Nami so much that for one of the few times in her life she completely was taken back, with nothing to say. A strange look was reflected in his eyes, distant and unfocused, like he was lost in thought. Zoro stared off into the floor, then turned his head towards the orange-haired teen and continued. "It's just…she's not." He recalled the look on her face he first saw her.

~_flashback~_

"_Why would you want to help me escape? You obviously want something from me, so the answer is no." Zoro leaned toward the girl a little. "Or maybe that flamingo guy from before sent you down here to negotiate with me for some deal, is that it?" Zoro said the last part with contempt ringing through his words, knowing that this wouldn't be the first time a captor had tried to 'negotiate' with him to get what he wanted._

_She looked startled for a moment, then a look of annoyance passed by her features and she retorted "No! No, that isn't what I…" She sighed again, looking a bit flustered. "What I mean is, I'm trying to get you off of this ship. I honestly don't want anything from you, I just…" She paused, and her gaze left the swordsman and traveled downward to her feet. She had a look of sadness, almost longing, etched across her face._

_~end flashback~_

"Zoro…" The young doctor looked at the injured man with surprised sadness in his gaze. Nami looked down at the grassy floor, unable to find the words to speak with. Robin looked at the navigator and doctor, then at the swordsman in front of her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again as she said, "Either way Swordsman-san, that girl said she would return to this spot in exactly one week from this day." She turned to Nami, then Chopper. "If Captain-san's instincts are correct, we can safely assume to expect another visit from our mysterious friend in a few days' time." She closed her eyes and turned, slowly making her way towards the kitchen. "All that we can do is to continue on course as planned, but that is up to you, Navigator-san. I do not know how she would be able to find our ship again, but I do not doubt that if Luffy believes that she is returning that she will in some way."

Stopping right before the door, Robin said finally "We may as well put this incident in the back of our minds until she re-emerges, no?" Without turning to face the three she went through the door to join the rest of her crew below-deck. Nami sighed, and straightening herself out, marched over to where Robin had disappeared to, muttering loudly about 'getting those lazy louts to get the steering fixed or else we'll never even see the next island let alone land on it'. Chopper made quick work of bandaging Zoro, then with the usual doctoring words of 'don't rip off those bandages, the wounds will reopen, don't strain yourself…' Zoro muttered something close to a yes, and motioned that the little reindeer could go. Chopper looked at him a moment longer, then hurriedly ran towards where the rest of the crew was getting wilder down below, eager to be included in the fun.

Zoro didn't move, Sora's face still etched in his mind. He shook the thought away, telling himself, _what the heck am I doing? Obsessing about and defending a girl I just met! Maybe Nami was right- _He stopped and grimaced, imagining Nami being right about this. _No, no. That she-witch will NEVER be right about this. It would give her too much self pleasure seeing that I was wrong. Well, still…maybe I'm just going crazy. What if I'm turning into a freakish ladies-man like Ero-cook-_ At this thought Zoro gagged, and almost vomited as that mental image flooded his mind. _NO. That cannot happen._ He breathed in, and looked up to the sky. Night was approaching; he could sense it in the air. "Whatever." He lay back against the wooden mast, reclining in his usual position. _I'll just do what Robin said, go back to normal until she comes back. That's not too hard._

_~One Week Later~_

One week had passed since Zoro's capture and the strange girl's disappearance. The crew of the Thousand Sunny had completely forgotten about the incident, mainly because of the events which occurred in the said week: Entering the stretch of sea labeled 'The Florian Triangle', meeting the living skeleton Brooke, landing on Thriller Bark, learning about the island's mysteries and evil intentions, having some of their shadows stolen by the resident Shichibukai Gecko Moria, barely defeating the giant zombie Oz, finally defeating Moria and releasing the one thousand shadows he had stolen in the past ten years, meeting the terrifying Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma minutes after regaining their shadows, and the untold (but seen by select crewmembers) act which occurred after the Straw Hat's horrendous defeat; Zoro's self-sacrificing deed to save his unconscious captain, by bearing all of Luffy's pain and wounds inflicted on the rubber-man's body to Zoro's own using Kuma's power.

The whole crew was relieved to be leaving the gloomy fog of the Florian Triangle. It had been a full day now since their trip on the moving island, and by now all of them were back to their usual crazy and rambunctious selves…other than Zoro. The green-haired swordsman was still feeling the damage caused from his encounter with Kuma. Since only a day had passed since the incident, the horrid wounds inflicted onto his body were still painful and unhealed even with all of Chopper's medical skills. The little reindeer had informed Zoro yesterday as he was wrapping new bandages around his torso that the intense injuries would take a long time to even close up, let alone fully heal. He estimated almost a month before his body would be fully recovered and that for a while afterwards to not strain himself.

Zoro stood alone on deck, a ridiculously huge weight suspended above his head. He swung the dumbbell down like a hammer, then lifted it up and repeated the process. He was trying to train like usual while his shipmates were below deck having dinner, but he couldn't seem to put out as much force as he usually did in these exercises. Chest heaving and drenched in sweat, he set the weight down as gently as he could muster onto the deck, and practically collapsed while trying to sit down. He looked down to his shirtless chest, where small crimson blobs were beginning to form on his right side. _D-. When Chopper sees this, he'll freak. I could say that he didn't say anything about my training…_

He cursed at himself for thinking so stupidly. He had gotten closer to death than ever-before yesterday and yet here he was, attempting to work himself while scathed and raw. Zoro flinched as his body protested against the sudden labor, but proceeded to stand and put the dumbbell away so that it couldn't roll onto anyone. Walking over to the side of the railing he grabbed his shirt and threw it on over his bandaged torso, mentally reminding himself to not let Chopper know that he had been training again. The teen then walked over to the foremast, all three katana in-hand, and leaned against the wooden frame. He let himself slide down onto the circular bench; his sore body needed a rest after his short workout, so inspecting and polishing his swords seemed a good way to pass the time.

He picked up each one gingerly, running his hands down the blades' edges and holding them delicately, but saved his newest for last: Shuushi, the sword he won by defeating the zombie Ryuuma. He held it tenderly in his outstretched hands, and remembered Yubashiri's lightweight feel. This newer sword was much heavier, and he would have to get used to the difference in power to fully control this blade like his others. He stared at the black blade a moment longer, and then returned it to its sheath carefully. Zoro turned towards the still light sky, and prepared to push himself off to go find out if there was anything left of dinner when he suddenly and without warning found himself face-to-face with a familiar set of brown-green eyes.

"Nani-o!" Startled, Zoro shoved himself backwards, unbalancing his weight against the mast and falling onto the ground. He stared in shock and confusion at the girl standing in front of him, and until she spoke he couldn't for the life of him think of why a teenager would be on their ship.

Placing her hand on her hip, she leaned a little bit to the left and with a small smile on her face said to the swordsman, "D'you miss me, Zoro?"

He stared at her, trying to recall some memory of their meeting, and suddenly remembering he managed to say, "You're…you're that girl…who disappeared a week ago!"

She seemed either to not hear or ignore him, and continued "You look even worse than after I saved you from the Marines! What in the world happened while I was gone?" She looked at him, a worried and slightly confused expression on her pretty face.

"So…Sora?" Luffy stood at the now opened doorway with a surprised expression on his face, then grinned and yelled "Yosh! I knew you'd come back!". The crew had just finished eating, and were starting to wander out of the kitchen. As Luffy began to dance around in self-proclaimed excitement, Sanji emerged.

"Oi, Luffy! You can't just stop in the middle of the-" He paused halfway as he saw the brown-haired girl standing in front of Zoro. "Sora-chwan!" Hearts filled his eyes as he noodle-danced down, trying to catch the attention of the female teen. Usopp and Chopper walked down the stairwell, Usopp in the middle of telling one of his ridiculous lies about 'a terrible monster he vanquished' as the duo spotted the girl on deck.

Jaws dropping, they both screamed "Ghost!" as they ran around deck panicking. Nami stormed out into the open demanding to know why everyone was making such a fuss and stopped dead as her eyes caught sight of the girl standing on the grassy lawn. Robin followed by Franky and Brooke appeared last.

"Oh my…" Robin exclaimed with a humorous yet intrigued expression on her face at the developing scene before her, but Franky responded with in a little less polite manner.

He yelled "Oi oi! It's that disappearing chick!" and pointed his finger at her, rudely.

"I have a name you know, Speedo-ossan!" Sora yelled back angrily, her teeth huge and sharp. Franky looked seriously ticked, and jumped down to her level, and yelled back.

"Nani? What'd you just call me?" Robin laughed to herself while the rest of the crew expressed themselves each in their own separate manners.

Brooke looked at the situation, sipped some tea, and calmly asked "Who's this?" as he strolled calmly down to join the others. Nami recovered herself a little at Brooke's question, and informed him.

"She's…she's a girl who saved Zoro from Marines almost a week ago. She disappeared from deck, and now…" She returned her gaze to the girl standing in front of them.

Zoro hauled himself off of the ground and placed his katana at his side, then glared at the girl, an annoyed expression on his face, probably due to the fact that he had overreacted over just a girl. _Again…d-…this better not become a habit for me._

By this time the people on board were considerably calmer after Franky bashed Usopp and Chopper's heads together to make them shut up. Now they took a closer look at her, they realized that she had changed a bit in the time she was gone, as far as their memories could recall. Her hair was no longer straight down her back; it naturally curled at the ends. Her shirt was the only part of her outfit that was changed: her tee replaced with a darker green strap-top, decorated with a drawn tree branching around on her chest, the neckline still greatly resembled something that Nami would wear. It matched her brown-green eyes perfectly.

Robin spoke first, addressing the returned girl, "Sora-san…who exactly are you?"

Luffy stared at brown-haired girl in excitement, and questioned "Sugei! Will you go invisible again, huh?"

Nami hit his head with force, and angrily said "Baka! She didn't go invisible, idiot. She disappeared for a week to who-knows-where!" Luffy ignored the annoyed navigator, and continued his fervent questioning.

"Oh! So are you gonna do it again, huh? I wanna try!" He yelled excitedly, getting his head banged by Nami and Franky's giant fists this time.

"Shut up!" Most of the crew yelled, other than Usopp, Chopper, and Robin. The raven-haired woman looked amused while Chopper and Usopp were still looking at Sora, the little reindeer with interest but Usopp still with vague suspicion.

"Oi, green-chick" Franky started, then Sora interrupted him, annoyed.

"My name is Sora, Speedo-dude…" Franky looked ticked, but continued.

"Sora-chick then." She gave him an exaggerated death stare, then rolled her eyes and let him continue. "What did you do, making yourself vanish like that?"

Nami picked up next, "Yeah, what exactly are you?"

Sora looked nervously at the Straw Hats assembled in front of her, and said "I…um…I have some weird power where I can move ahead in time for exactly one week." Robin looked questioningly at the younger girl, with one eyebrow raised.

"So, are you a devil fruit user then?" Sora fidgeted a little, and replied hesitantly.

"I…don't know. All I know is that I can only to that thing once, and I've never eaten any weird fruit…not that I can remember anyway…" Her voice drifted off, a distant confused look on her face, making the pirates on deck worried.

"What'd you mean; can't you remember what you've eaten before?" Zoro grunted, getting an angry Sanji up in his face.

"How dare you insult Sora-chan in such a way?" While he and Zoro gave each other death stares, the rest of the crew picked back up with questioning the girl.

"I'll assume that you're not our enemy, for what you did for Swordsman-san and for not attacking. If you really our a person we can trust, why don't you tell us who you are then, Sora-san?" Robin addressed the girl in a gentle yet serious manner, snapping the other two out of their private feud.

Usopp was the next Straw Hat to speak. "Yeah, Robin's right. Why were you on a Marine ship anyway?" Sora sighed and fidgeted where she stood. Looking around at the interested and suspicious looks of the crew surrounding her, she replied.

"I guess there's no avoiding it. Maybe you guys can clear up some of the questions I have as well." She walked over to the wooden bench running around the mast, and practically collapsed as she sat down.

The crew glanced nervously at her, and Nami asked "Oi, are you ok?" Sora looked up into the worried navigator's concerned face, and breathed deeply for a few minutes before managing a weak grin and replied.

"That really took more out of me than I realized…but anyway, I'll tell you all now, about that man who took Zoro, about what I was doing on that ship, and…

…what's left of my past."

* * *

Oh...don't you just love it? Until... *checks unfinished story* ...whenever then!


	6. What do You Say When

OK, so now here it is. *pant pant* Finally. Also, I offically FAILED MY TRIGONOMOTRY CLASS! (boo)

On another note, I woke up today and thought: ALL I WILL THINK ABOUT TODAY IS ONE PIECE. So I wrote a new story and chapter. Yay! Oh, and ...I wanted it to be longer...and the ending is terrible...but I am really tired...so I might come home tomorrow and change the ending...or not...probably though...so check...and also-I have gone back and changed some grammer, spelling, wording, and just junk in the other chapters. So check those out (if you want...not that you would nessecarily would...)

**Sanji: **Yes! My lovely mellorine picked me to come this week, I knew that she was really-

**Franky: **Nani? Oi, what is Curly Brow doing here? I thought that you said that this was my week to show off about my SUPA machines and muscles!

**Sora: **Yeah...about that...

**Zoro: **Oi? Nani o? Why the h- is Ero-Cook here!

**Sanji: **You Moss-for-Brains! Who let you in here? Are you here to terrorize my beloved Mellorine? I'll kill you, you s- b-!

**Zoro: **Nani? What was that, Curly Brow? I'll kill you-

**Sora: ***Zoro and Sanji kill each other in background with confused but hot Franky standing next to Sora* Ok...then next we have-

**Luffy: **Oi! Matte kudasai! Where's the meat!

**Sora: **...what?

**Luffy: ***whines* Oi! You said that there was gonna be meat!

**Sora: **Man, where do all you guys come up with this stuff?...Anyway, the guy who will be doing the disclaimer this time is...

**Franky: **SUPA! Yes! I'm feeling particularly SUPA this week, so I'm gonna introduce the **Disclaimer**! *does awsome dance while saying disclaimer* Sora-chick is t-o-t-a-l-l-y SUPA, but not owning us this week, or next, or next,...

**Sora: **Oi! What did you just call me, tin-for-brains?

**Franky: **Oh? Did you say something, short-stuff?

**Sora: **That's it! I'm gonna-BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPP *signal shorted out, we've only got static now. Darn. Anyway, Sora doesn't own any of One Piece, except for her own character -herself- and thats kinda it...how sad...*

* * *

**5. What do you Say When…**

_~same~_

The Straw Hat crew crowded around Sora as she began, all eyes upon her as the soft-spoken words flowed from her tensed figure. "I don't know what kind of a reputation he holds, but I do know that he's bad news. He just…walked into town, and told me to go with him." Usopp interrupted her explanation.

"Demo, wasn't he really scary or something? I mean, didn't you try to run away or fight him?" Sora paused and looked seriously at the long-nosed man.

"Your name is Usopp, right? The sharpshooter." She directed her words towards the teen.

"Oh, right!" Usopp got into his boasting pose; eyes closed and head pointed up. "So you've heard about the great Usopp-sama, and all of my wondrous feats…wait..." He had begun his boasting again, intent to impress her, but stopped as he thought of what she had said. "How do you know that I'm a sharpshooter?" He looked at her in confusion.

Sora blushed, a slight pink highlighting her usually pale features. "I…guessed?" She mumbled in response. He was confused at her answer, and the others felt a ripple of unease go through their bodies.

_How can she know who Usopp is? _Nami thought, her eyes filled with confusion at the younger teen, with underlying suspicion. _Even if she had seen a wanted poster, it only has that stupid Sogeking mask, not Usopp's face or name. I don't even remember introducing ourselves to her. _Nami continued to herself. Zoro stared at Sora, questions clouding his mind as he studied this sudden change in her personality.

_She's hiding something. She's got a weird, guilty look on her face._ As the seconds passed, Sora's expression changed back to the positive, even though the feeling didn't reach her eyes.

Continuing, she said "Anyway, I didn't protest because…I didn't see any real reason to. I hadn't the slightest thought of the others… and that was my biggest mistake."

~_flashback_~

"_It was a calm day. Somewhere near the Red Line, the middle of the Grand Line, there is…was, a small village. I had been staying on that island for a full month now, and it was very peaceful. Then __he__ came; strolling into the village out of nowhere one day as if he owned the place, dressed strangely and surrounded by an air of mistrust. I was on an errand when he spotted me, then approached in the marketplace. He said to me, beckoning with his finger, 'Come here girl, I've got something to discuss with you.' He grinned as he said this, a confident, sly grin on his face, like had been told a private joke only he could understand._

"_I followed him warily as he led me out of the town and past the harbor, out to the grassy land near the beach. I didn't know what this guy wanted, but I followed anyway, blindly curious as to what his connection to me was. I started to notice that he led me down a lesser used path; even if I yelled my loudest, no one would hear or see any sign of a struggle. I saw that a Marine ship had dropped anchor out just past the beach as we rounded the corner of one of the sea cliffs. I stopped when I saw it, refusing to move any further, and asked him with a suspicious look, 'What exactly do you want with me?' He stopped walking and turned his face towards me, the same smile on his lips._

_'I have something you need to do for me, Sora-chan. You and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together here soon.' I stared at his unnerving face; worry knotting up in my gut. _

How could he know my name?_ I thought to myself in confusion. _And, what does he mean; we'll be spending time together? That sounds so wrong._ I freaked out in my mind, realizing that he was going to take me away. I could tell that this was a man who always got just what he wanted, so thinking logically I decided to chance it, and find out what his true intentions were._

_'Fine… I'll go.' I said, my features hiding any emotion._

"_He looked at me, his cocky grin turning into a frown for a few seconds at my answer. Then he recovered himself and grinned widely. 'Ha!' He chuckled to himself loudly. 'Girl, do you even know who you're talking to?' I looked at him, into where I assumed his eyes were behind his thin purple sunglasses._

_'No. I don't.' I replied, a steely look in my eye. He stared at me for a moment then laughed to himself, the smile leaving his face._

_'Humph. Whatever.' He turned around to face a small boat manned by a few men in front of us I had failed to notice earlier._

_'I do happen to like knowing the names of people who suddenly abduct me from islands, you know.' I stared at him, eyes never wavering until he stopped and turned. _

_'My name… is Don Quixote Doflamingo. That's all you need to know.' He looked right at me as he spoke, as if daring me to speak again, then turned back and continued to walk towards the boat and motioned for me to follow him; I followed, totally unaware of what I had just agreed to._

"_About ten minutes later, as I sailed off on the large ship I stood near the railing, staring back at the island for the last time. He approached from behind; I didn't even realize he was there until he spoke. 'Heh. Pathetic little island.' He turned his face in my direction. 'I bet you agreed so quickly because you thought that you could escape somehow and go back there, isn't that right?' I didn't reply, but the look on my face showed a hint of my intentions. Taking my look for an answer, he continued 'I guess I'll just give you a reason to stay then, permanently.' He made a motion with his hand towards the island, and at first it looked like nothing had happened, but then…_

_-BOOM-_

"_The entire area around the village and forest was instantaneously encased in huge bursts of fire, with more and more explosives going off each second. I was shocked; confusion and anger clouded my better judgment and face as I was forced to watch in silent horror as the entire island I had called home for a short time died right before my eyes. I could hear their screams of terror and pain all the way out at sea where I stood; it was antagonizing. I turned to my right to face him, but before I could speak I saw that he was already walking away, as if bored with the scene playing out before my eyes. I yelled at him, 'What the heck have you done? Those were innocent people; they have nothing to do with me!'_

_He didn't even stop or look at me as he said this: 'Too bad for you. Maybe you should have thought about your choice a little longer before you caused all those _innocent _people their lives. Heh.' I stood at the railing, shaking in anger, and now fear as well. Filled with malice at this monster before me, I was horrified to realize that he was right. This was my entire fault, and I couldn't do a thing about it." _

_~end flashback~_

"I've spent five days on that ship now, not counting the week jumped." As she ended, she got a cold look in her eyes, glaring into the wood, feeling deep and pent-up anger at the man in her tale. Her audience stared in horror and shock at her tale as each of the crewmembers tried to soak in what Sora had just described. Zoro looked at her with scrutinizing intensity, her story almost unbelievable to the swordsman's ears.

"He just, killed…everyone? On the whole island? For no reason?" Nami spoke in a shocked tone, a mortified look on her face.

"And you had even gone with him...they weren't involved …" Usopp stared at her, his face as pale as a slate.

"That...that b-!" Sanji said aloud furiously, his face flushed with shocked anger. During the tale Franky had lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head, and an enraged look shone from his eyes; grinding his teeth together and fists clenched threateningly he looked ready to kill.

Chopper spoke in a disbelieving tone, "That monster…all those innocent people. He just killed them…for no reason!" Tears were streaming down the small doctors face. Brooke's skeletal features seemed shocked; he had long ago abandoned his teacup and now stared off into the floorboards, lost in the thought of all of those innocent people slaughtered mercilessly at the hand of this terror-of-a-man.

Luffy's stare stayed on girl sitting across from him, fury building up inside of him and eyes of pure hate towards the devil in the tale. "If I ever meet that b-… I'll beat the c- out of him!" Robin was the only person on deck who's features didn't show anger or sadness. Robin's face was a white sheet of pure horror.

"…Do…flamingo? No…" She said aloud, causing the crew to turn their gaze in the direction of the raven-haired woman.

"Oi, Robin… you've heard of him?" Luffy asked slowly in confusion, glancing up to visibly see the worry etched upon her face.

"Robin-chan…" Sanji's concern clouded over his earlier anger. Sora looked up into the frightened face of the archeologist, a confused look on her pale face as she waited for the woman to speak.

"Don Quixote Doflamingo…that name… belongs to one of the most terrifying pirates in the Grand Line. Luffy, that man…is a Shichibukai." Everyone's face displayed looks of absolute astonishment and terror at the archeologist's words.

Sora's face was a mixture of shock and fear. "A…a Shichibukai? Are you sure?"

Robin looked to the younger girl. "Yes, I am certain."

Trying not to panic, Usopp desperately pointed out "But…oi oi! Didn't we just kick that Moria guy's a-? He's a Shichibukai too!" Usopp was trying to put on a reassuring smile, even though he was visibly sweating and had a doubtful look in his eyes. "If this guy is weaker than Moria then…" He stopped as the archeologist dismissed his thought with a knowing look, and then shook her head at his words.

"Don Quixote Doflamingo...he is one of the most feared Shichibukai. His former bounty exceeds even Kuma's." At this remark Zoro tensed, and memories of horrible, unending pain flooded back into his bandaged body. He still had not had enough time to lose the feel of the wounds inflicted when Kuma transferred the pain and fatigue of Luffy into the swordsman's own body. Without warning Zoro fell into a fit; falling to his knees, he convulsed in pain as the torturous feelings tore through his mind and the echo of his intense injuries invaded his muscles once more.

Chopper recovered himself from shock at this moment to scream, "ZORO!" and rush over to where the swordsman lay on the ground, his features twisted in pain.

The crew jumped at this sudden development, Nami concernedly yelling at him, "Nani? What's wrong, Zoro!" Usopp started forward, only to be beaten to it by a frantic Luffy.

"Zoro, Zoro! Chopper, what's wrong with Zoro?" Luffy gasped at Chopper, confusion and fear flashing across his features as he half stumbled half leapt over to where the swordsman lay convulsing. As the people on deck tensed themselves, watching in horror as their nakama lay writhing in pain before them Sora looked down and almost stood up to approach the man, but stopped herself after the convulses slowed.

Chopper looked fearfully at the swordsman, and trying to hold Zoro's shaking body with his small hooves he replied to Luffy "I think …that when we talked about that man who's even stronger than Kuma…Zoro must have remembered the fight." Now breathing heavily, the teen leaned forward gasping for air as Chopper held him steady. "It brought back memories of however he got all of those severe injuries, and might have triggered MPS*****…"

Ignoring the doctor-ish parts, all Luffy concentrated on were the little reindeer's words of '_…Zoro must have remembered the fight…memories of…all those severe injuries..._' Swinging his face from the sight of his friend's pain, Luffy looked to where Robin stood by the railing."Oi, Robin. What was his bounty? The flamingo-b-'s bounty?" Luffy's serious expression and desperate tone startled the archeologist, and Robin faltered for a moment. It was unlike Luffy to care about the threat level or bounty of foes.

Regaining herself, she stole a look at where Chopper sat tending to Zoro and replied finally, "Captain-san…his bounty…was 340,000,000 beri."

Zoro convulsed into another pain-laden spasm at her words, now coughing up blood with each gasp for air. Chopper panicked, thinking _Oh no! His body isn't ready to handle this much stress yet! _Fearing for his body as well as his mental state at this point, he suddenly grew to Heavy Point and gingerly picked his green-haired nakama up in his large arms. He rushed over to the small hospital wing of the ship, Zoro held carefully in his grasp. Knowing enough to not disturb him, the remaining Straw Hats slowly registered all of this sudden commotion; along with Zoro's seizure and the realization of the severity of the situation they had almost forgotten the pale girl sitting up against the mast. Her face was clouded; she stared off into the ground as if in a trance.

"So I've…" Sora muttered, her eyes cast down with black lines clouding them from view. Robin, Franky, Usopp, Nami, Brooke, Sanji, and Luffy remained on deck, and they returned their focus to their younger passenger. "So Doflamingo…he wants me, doesn't he?" Robin returned the gaze of the younger girl with a serious look.

"Hai. It seems that way, Sora-san." She stared at the brown-haired girl without revealing emotion, although on the inside wondered. Sora's eyes moved to the door she had seen the swordsman disappear into.

"And…he needs…" She drifted off, leaving the unspoken thought dangling in the silence on deck. For once, everyone was thinking of the same thing. _Doflamingo…needs Zoro._

Franky crossed his arms and lowered his sunglasses. Addressing the general group, he stated "So, what are we supposed to do now?" Nami looked over and bit her lip, unsure. This whole thing was completely confusing and strange to them.

Luffy glanced up from where he sat on the grassy lawn; finally comprehending the situation, he had calmed down considerably and gazed up at the serious-looking shipwright with a confused-looking expression on his face. "Soka. So… all we gotta do is protect Sora, right?" The crew looked at their captain's huge trademark smile in shock.

"Eh? It's not that simple, baka…" Nami started, to be interrupted by Luffy.

"Zoro's strong, and he's got us. But Sora's all alone now, so we gotta protect her." He looked to the said girl to see her reaction. Surprised for a moment, she heatedly blushed and looked away from the captain's ridiculously positive grin.

"Baka…I don't need protecting…" but looked glad anyway.

"Yosh! I've decided!" Luffy hopped up from the deck and threw his hands in the air. "Sora's gonna stay on our ship and be our nakama!" Grinning stupidly, he got his head bashed to the ground by Nami and Franky's combined efforts. While Nami yelled, "Baka! You can't just make rash decisions like that!" Franky had his own argument.

"That's right! I don't like this short-chick one bit and-" Sora had gotten seriously ticked by this point and jumped up and addressed Franky.

"Oi, Speedo-ossan! Maybe I don't quite fancy you either, pantie-man!" Franky got very ticked by this and now the two stood face-to-face, even if the cyborg was towering over the way younger girl. Both of them looked like…_like Zoro and Sanji…_ Nami, Usopp, and Brooke thought while sweat-dropping. Robin was amused by the scene and smiled, while Luffy was laughing hysterically.

Sanji then jumped up and bashed Franky's surprised face in with his foot, hollering something about 'never arguing like that with a lady you s- head'.

Sora grinned wickedly and put on a very innocent face and said to Sanji "Oh Sanji, thank you _sooo_ much! That big, ugly brute was _soooo_ scary! You're my-" she bent down to where he was melting into a puddle on the floor "-hero, Sanji-san."

Sanji completely melted at this point into a love-sick puddle on the grass, muttering 'mellorine' to no one in particular. Sora then smirked, and laughed and laughed, joining Luffy on the grass in howls. _Wow…yeah split-personality there much?..._ Nami and Usopp sweat dropped some more. Nami shook her head and recovered herself, then addressed the younger girl who was still on the floor rolling in fits of laughter.

"Alright then. If you're going to be sailing with us for a bit, then we had better introduce ourselves as well." The navigator motioned to the blue-vested figure who was now holding his largely bruised head in pain from Nami's foot. "That is our idiot captain, Luffy." She looked at Sora, who was now laying down on the grass calmly, apparently not paying attention to the navigator. "I'm-"

"You are Nami, the navigator, also a map-maker; the intelligent lady with the questions over there is Nico Robin, an archeologist who has been hunted for almost 20 years by the Government; the guy standing next to you in slight fear is Usopp, the sharpshooter, also a liar and scaredy-cat; this giant turquoise tin-can is Franky, formerly known as Cutty Flam, a cyborg and shipwright; this kinda cute blond here is the esteemed cook Sanji, a regular play-boy of girls, but yet very much chivalrous and gentlemanly; the guy who I saved from the Marines a week ago is obviously Roronoa Zoro, infamous ex-bounty hunter and amazing swordsman; the furry little guy is the doctor, named Chopper and he is very cuddly and cute; and I don't know much about the skeleton other than he has some kind of tie to about 50 years ago and has eaten a devil's fruit, obviously."

Sora finished her quick speech with a bored expression on her face, like she had just been told to recite information or some other monotonous task, and glanced around deck to see shock, and a lot of confusion on the faces of everyone. She raised an eyebrow at the people, and said "What?" Everyone just gaped at her, speechless. She frowned and picked herself up. "Well, what is it? Do I have something on my face?"

Her unconcerned words bounced Robin out of her state, and she questioned, "How do you know all of that information?" Sora finally realized her error, and grinned sheepishly.

"Um…I'm really, really talented?"

Robin looked shocked, Sanji looked a terrible mixture of shocked and still in love, Luffy had stars in his eyes and was very much in awe, and the other four Straw Hats face-planted into the cool grass of the deck. Robin glanced again at the brown-haired girl in front of her, more in interest than suspicion, thinking, _What is the world is she…_

* * *

*** Myofascial pain syndrome:** A condition characterized by chronic pain in the muscle tissues, similar to fibromyalgia. MPS is occasionally the aftereffect of injury. (for people who don't DO doctor speech, I'll translate: its basically when you feel overwhelming pain in muscles or areas of the body after some intense injury, but nothing is harming your body again. Like, this weird thing where you're not getting new injuries, but the pain decides to come back. Usually in people with mental issues, but for Zoro, Kuma was pretty freakish, even for him)

Come to think of it…the pain Zoro is experiencing right now might have nothing to do with their conversation. It is probably because he disobeyed doctors (indirect) orders to not train…and he did anyway…and, I will probably be going through this tomorrow after school, because I am writing this after staying up til 12:00 last night, and it is 9:23 on a school night here...bad me...but hey! My new story and chapter are up! Boo ya!

Ohh, and...if anyone has any questions or i'm not clear enough in some area, please let me know! I love getting critizicem like that, and I would like to hear any ideas for improvements for any upcoming areas if anyone has any desires for something (not like i have to listen or anything...oppps! did I say that out loud?) AND...I got a new story up now...AND...ReViEw...AND...beep, I can't remember...


	7. First Impressions Mean Nothing

Guess what? I was writing this (for a long time) then I looked at the word count: +9,000. 0.o Ok, so I cut in in half, and this chapter has a hehehe lame ending. Good news (me and you all): Since I split it in half, I have to write only about three or four pages worth for the next chapter. The end of this chapter and the beginning of the next are really more of an extended chapter anyway, so that's how it is.

Next, I will write the finish to the eight chapter after my vacation...I'm not expecting much because the tension is in the next chapter-opps! I gave it away -heheehehehe-

**Sora: **Since I have to go finish my Pokemon story and load it now, I will be doing the **disclaimer** for myself today: I don't own anything relating to, or the same as One Piece. Other than my name, my necklace, my clothes, my money, my computer, my pokemon cards...

I HAVE A TWITTER ACCOUNT NOW. Gottabethebest1 . Look me up please, for I have...two followers. Wah...

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**6. First Impressions Mean Nothing**

_~Midnight, one week later~_

The sound of the waves lapping up against the hull created a calming pulse as the pale girl watched the sky grow darker and darker with each passing minute. _Soon, the moon will rise. _She stood leaning against the railing at the bow of the ship, her thoughts entirely on the night. _I wonder if it will finally be full…_ As she calmly gazed at the black night sky, a lone figure's stare followed her silhouette from above, his pale green hair darkened by the absence of light.

It was Zoro's turn for watch, as he had once again declined Robin's offer to take his shift. _She probably only asked because of what happened today with that girl…d-. _Unusual as it may seem, he just couldn't drift off into that quiet sanctuary of sleep. _That's probably a good thing. I mean, I am supposed to be on _watch_ right? It pretty much kills the point if I actually sleep…_ he sighed at this thought, then recalled the real reason he had decided to keep watch: to see _her_. _Oh s-. That sounds so weird, like something that ero-cook would do…jeez. _He sat up straighter as the figure below moved a little, rising up for a moment as though expecting something, then letting her body lay back onto the rail again in apparent disappointment.

_I wonder what she's looking at…or for. _Zoro glanced over to where he assumed her sight to be set on, and frowned. Almost whispering to himself, he murmured "There's not even anything th…" He stopped, noticing a change far in the distance over the water. A bright orb was peaking over the still sea, casting a peaceful glow over the dark waters. It crept higher and higher into the sky with each minute, brightening the ship's deck enough after a while to let Zoro make out her body and facial features. _She's…smiling? _He studied her under this new lighting. Indeed, a hint of a smile played on her lips, and her now fully forest-green eyes seemed to sparkle in the white light casted by the pale sphere.

_Eh? She waited up all this time for the moon… _Muttering something about women and strange behavior he slumped down in his seat in the weight room, still in a position to see the girl below, and contented himself with thinking upon the past week, and today's… events. _I still can't believe that that marshmallow has that kind of power…_ He shifted uneasily around, trying desperately to get into a comfortable position to rest. It didn't work. _Cheh. Whatever…I guess that it just took me by surprise, that's all._ Looking down again at the lone female, he recalled the past week and tried to use that to fall into the void of sleep. _So that's how this craziness started…humph… it figures. Leave it to a girl to screw things up…_

~_One Week Earlier_~

After the dust had settled on Sora's little outburst of information, she had attempted to cover up by saying that all of her information was 'commonly known, easy for anyone to acquire, really', her face set on 'oh no. I'm totally not guilty' mode. Nami didn't believe the excuse one bit, but had to push aside her thoughts when Brooke pointed out that he hadn't formally introduced himself to the young lady yet.

Bowing, he raised his hat and said in a very gentlemanly manner, "Yo-hohohoho! My name is Dead-Bones Brooke, but you may call me Brooke!" He lifted his white skull up to face the girl. "Oh, and may I see your panties?"

The words hung in the air for a brief period of five seconds before her faced switched to 'enraged mode' and her terribly evil looking face made him freeze up in terrible fear. The hate-flames surrounded her body flew everywhere as she glared and said in a menacing voice, "Don't… push… your…luck…skeleton!"

"Ah, yo-hoho…ah…hai." He practically squeaked out.

Sanji took this point to cry out, "Oh! Sora-chan is so beautiful and stunning when she is getting her point across!" As the cook fawned over Sora with heart-eyes popping out, the crew finally began to get back into normal habits. Usopp, now bored of the situation, threw his hand in the air and hollered something about fishing with Luffy, and the pair ran off to get their poles. Nami sighed, defeated, and begrudgingly took Sora below deck to the girl's room so as to find a place for her to sleep.

While this was going on Sanji stopped dancing over Sora and proceeded to dance over to the black haired archeologist and began eloquently asking Robin if she needed anything from him. She smiled politely, replying "Arigato, Cook-san, a hot drink would be lovely", causing the cook to leap off to the kitchen in order to make some beverages for her, Nami, and Sora when they returned.

Now feeling huffy, Franky scowled in a way that 'made him look like a pouting five year old' as Brooke put it, so the turquoise-haired man sulked down to his workshop, leaving a few protruding welts on Brooke's black afro. Recovering as though nothing had happened, the skeleton slowly walked over to the bench running around the foremast, then pulled out his violin and began tuning the instrument.

Robin stayed at the railing a while longer, watching the waves and wondering about this new addition to their ship with vague interest. _I wonder…who will Sora be?_ Robin's face clouded over as she thought about the mysterious new girl, staring off into the waves. Brooke studied Robin's face as she looked over the water, knowing better than to disturb her while she was contemplating.

_000000000_

The next few days were certainly entertaining, to say the least. Eager to be accepted, Sora tried to include herself in everything; not a day would go by where she wasn't asking Robin about ancient history, or (much to his delight) Sanji about cooking. The day after her return, she spent the whole morning with Nami, questioning her about navigation, weather, and watching her draw maps. She even wanted to ask Usopp about different types of dials, and when he tried to boast about his 'heroic feats' she listened politely, and then continued to speak as if he hadn't just told her a completely false tale.

During breakfast, the whole crew was shocked and slightly impressed to watch her defend against Luffy's greedy hands like she had been doing it for months; making her foot or fist connect with Luffy's open mouth every time his face got within a foot of her dish. Her table manners were good enough to be acceptable by Nami's standards, and she even knew better than to give lavish or extreme compliments to Sanji for his cooking, preferring rather to ask about certain spices or ingredients, to his pleasure.

She and Franky apparently went at it again in his workshop right after breakfast when she went down and tried to make peace with him in a spurt of kindness. The truce didn't last long, especially when Franky insisted on calling her "marshmallow" and "short stuff" and she insisted on "tin man" and "Speedo ossan", then remarked something about how '_real men_ don't wear Speedos'.

No other crew member witnessed the battle, but everyone above deck heard the shouts and insults hurling back and forth, and could feel the ship being broken in areas within the hull and crashing around. When the two resurfaced an hour or so later, each had large welts and bruises on their heads, and seemed to be in a mutual understanding that neither would discuss what had happened in the small war between them and each would try and 'respect their differences'. The matter was left at that.

A couple of hours later when Luffy and Usopp yelled about catching lunch Sora jumped up from where she had been sunbathing with Nami and immediately wanted to be included in the fishing activity. Not taking the other girl's excitement seriously, Nami didn't move and asked with disbelief "Why in the world would you want to do something like that? All those dimwits are going to do is goof off, they're not actually going to catch anything!"

Taking off her sunglasses to look at the other girl's expression, Nami sweat-dropped when she realized that Sora had completely ignored her words and was already sitting on the railing next to Luffy, fishing pole in-hand. _What in the heck-? Why would anyone _want _to fish with those idiots? _Nami sighed out loud before looking tiredly at the girl's back, and watching her sit patiently between the two older teens. _Well, just because we have another female on board for a little while doesn't mean that she will be like last time. I really shouldn't expect her to be just like Vivi…_ Looking again at the younger girl as she laughed hysterically about something ridiculous Luffy had said, Nami sweat-dropped… again.

The orange haired girl gave up, and went back to her tanning while Robin watched in amusement at the younger girl's very apparent enjoyment of the rambunctious activity with the two boys. Robin chuckled a bit while watching Sora unexpectedly pull up a huge shark; the boys crying out in excitement and glee and the girl with a huge grin covering her face. _She looks so happy… _Robin thought to herself as she sprinkled water onto the flowerbeds.

She was constantly studying this strange girl, and right now was an excellent example of her true nature. _She looks truly excited, not as though she is falsely playing along at all. She really must enjoy being around others…_ The boys helped Sora haul the shark over to the tank, and then squished it in with a lot of effort. Luffy then went running off to Sanji to inform him to make shark-based meals for lunch today, as Usopp and Sora chased after him. Sanji didn't mind at all, after hearing that 'the lovely Sora-chan' had caught it, and cooked it up then and there for the meal.

Chopper joined them during their luncheon. He had spent all night and morning with Zoro, making sure that he was in a stable condition before leaving his side. Now able to report on their green haired friend to his comrades, the doctor informed them that the swordsman was fine but that no one should see him for a few more hours. When he delivered this news he looked positive, but wary at the same time. The young doctor went on to say that they all had to keep a close eye on him for a few days or so, to make sure that he doesn't have any other types of seizures or such for a bit, in order for his body to begin the recovery process.

After that brief announcement Luffy wanted to see him right away before Nami smacked his head into the ground. During this disturbance Sora mysteriously disappeared and wasn't seen until a few hours later when Robin observed her sneaking out of the infirmary, much to the younger girl's embarrassment. The older female promised not to tell, much to the other's relief. When Zoro finally appeared on deck later that afternoon he was re-bandaged and refused to talk about the matter, only grunting impassively at questions, so the crew left it alone and continued as normal.

That evening Sora surprised everyone by insisting to cook something for them. Calling the whole crew together for a brief announcement in the kitchen/dining area she informed them of her desire to give them a good meal as thanks for letting her stay on their ship. As soon as the words left her mouth there was a distinctive mood change within the room. Those who had become crewmembers on the Grand Line thought that this was a grand idea and their faces held smiles or interest, and those who had been around before when a certain little girl cooked a meal in a similar fashion were reminded of what a terrible idea that was and stared off into the ground with blue lines over their heads.

Chopper looked excited about any type of food, Robin appeared to have her usual amused look, Franky scoffed but looked somewhat interested, and Brooke complimented her on a fine idea. Nami and Usopp looked like they were re-experiencing their other 'guest-cooked' meal, Sanji remembered the last time with Nami and Usopp but was interesting in this girl's idea and volunteered to watch and help her around the kitchen in an actually serious manner. Zoro obviously remembered the other girl's cooking as well, because he seemed to be reliving the cooking even more so than the other two and looked very, very sick while turning a bit green.

Luffy actually cried "Yosh! Make something with lots and lots of meat!" She smiled politely and told him that the meal she was going to prepare was going to have some meat in it, but that for his sake she would make the meat part larger than usual. The captain looked ecstatic; fantasizing over his soon-to-be dinner and drooling, he had to be kicked out of the room by an annoyed cook when Sora requested that everyone let her be for a few hours. As everyone filed out, she told Sanji what she was going to try to make while searching for ingredients.

"Spa-ghetti?" Sanji asked, brief confusion apparent in his question. He had never heard of that food before, and that intrigued him that she knew some dish that he hadn't.

"Yes. I wanted you to help me so that you can learn how to make it too." She blushed. "Honestly, it's the only non-dessert that I really know how to cook. It was a family recipe that's been handed down for a few generations." She was assembling quite a tirade of spices, pots and pans on the counter, and she had to describe to Sanji what each one would be used for. Being a master chef, Sanji quickly caught on to the process, and was an excellent 'student' for her. The task was done in less than 3 hours, and when the chef stepped out onto deck to announce the meal the starving crew came tearing into the dining room. What they found when they stepped inside astounded them.

On huge plates sat beautiful piles of noodles, red tomato sauce covering the mounds, and a ridiculously gigantic bowl of meatballs in the center of the table. Everyone's mouths dropped to the ground at the sight before them, and it was silent with surprise until Luffy's unending appetite could no longer be withheld and he lunged forward with a bound yelling "MIKU!" Sora walked out from the kitchen, after having cleaned up, then smiled and told Luffy that she had made bowling ball sized meatballs just for him.

Actually listening for once, he grinned from ear to ear and hastily started to scarff down the dinner, in between bites yelling something that sounded like "Arwi-gwah-to So-rwah wou wra weh bwest!"(1) Everyone else was snapped out of their stupor when Usopp and Chopper realized that Luffy was almost finished with his own large portion and would very quickly go after the other undefended plates. Scrambling to reach the food, each person silently hoped that this meal wouldn't kill them, and began in on the dinner.

Tasting just one bite was enough to make even the most suspicious crew member (Zoro) gasp in surprise and delight. Everyone wanted thirds, and Luffy was on his tenth ready for the next plate until Sanji kicked him and yelled that he 'shouldn't make Sora-chan work anymore after that great meal' with the former standing next to the table smiling and rubbing her head sheepishly. After the initial excitement over her meal died down the crew all thanked her graciously for the food, and commented upon how delicious and excellent it was. Full tummies and heavy eyelids made the boys wander off to the confines of their dorm room, and the girls soon followed.

Zoro offered to be on night watch, even though Chopper insisted that he could do it on account of Zoro needing rest. The proposal was quickly thrown down when the swordsman got a look at how tired the little doctor was, and refused to back off his shift. After a little while of dozing in the weight room/lookout, he heard the kitchen door open, some of Sanji's commentary on Sora's fabulous meal and beauty, then heard the cook say his goodnight to her and head down to the bunks. He glanced out the window to see Sora nowhere to be found.

Raising his eyebrow in suspicion, he started to raise himself up to look for her when her head materialized non-literally from the hole in the floor. Zoro almost jumped…almost. _Man! What am I, Usopp? _His face grew very tense with annoyance as he grimaced comically._ Why the h- am I so jumpy…and why the heck did I need to know where she was anyway? It's not like I need to keep tabs on her… I am losing it…_ Relaxing again, he noticed that she looked like she wanted to say something, by the way she was holding her hands together and that she wasn't looking directly at him.

"Well? Spit it out. No one's stopping you." The girl looked up in surprise at the man's words; she thought that he wasn't paying attention to her, knowing what she did about his usual attitude towards strangers.

Looking away from the swordsman, who now had one eye open and watching the girl with only slight annoyance; she defiantly muttered "I know! I'm…getting to it, don't rush me!" She looked very awkward right then, and Zoro wondered what she was about to say.

She fidgeted for a few moments more, then looked straight at him and burst out "I…I want you to teach me to swordfight!" As soon as she said it, Zoro opened both eyes in surprise and started to sit up. Embarrassed her outburst, the girl seemed to inwardly flinch at the awkward way she put her desire. Zoro raised an eyebrow, and stood up so that he was at his full height, which was at least a full foot taller than the younger teen.

"And why would you want me to teach you to use a sword?" He asked honestly, suspicious as always yet still curious as to why this girl would want learn swordsmanship. She looked up at him, then down to the side.

"Because…because, I…" Zoro looked into her eyes, which at that moment had turned bright green again, and saw the same look that he had seen in the Marine ship's hold. That look of sadness, of longing…of pain. There was a seemingly endless minute in which her confession stilled the air, as if taunting her on her request.

"You can't fight…can you?" His voice broke the sad silence that she had created, and she looked up to his face.

"I just…I just want to do something. I feel so worthless, so useless. I can't do anything!" She walked over to the windowsill, and placed her outstretched hand on the cool plane of glass. "When those men attacked that island, I felt so pathetic! It was my fault, but I couldn't do a thing to stop them because I was weak." She slowly turned to Zoro, a look of determination on her face replacing her helplessness. "I swear, that I will avenge those people. To do that, I need to fight. I need to know how to do something to defend those who are important to me!"

She looked away again, refusing to meet his eyes. "If those men attack this ship…I would just be a burden to you as I am now. Without any means to defend myself, I would just get you guys hurt. I can't take not doing anything. It's burning me up, I just have to do something, anything!" She struck out at the wall, and left a good sized dent. Apparently unaware at the indentation in the wall, she looked seriously at Zoro, waiting for an answer. He watched her for a minute, then glanced quickly at the hole in the wall (which she had still failed to notice), then turned, slowly walking over to his spot, and laid back down with his eyes closed.

"I won't train you." He said with his eyes closed as to not see her reaction. He expected her to yell at him, to be shocked with surprise and anger, to scream 'why won't you do this for me?', to whine, or to lash out.

"Oh. Alright then." She said, her eyes shaded as she looked at the floorboards. There was no anger, no confusion in her voice. Only, mild sadness, almost as if she had expected this answer from the man. She turned from him and placed her hand on the floor to steady herself as she started down the hatch, but stopped as Zoro spoke.

"I won't train you…" he repeated. She turned to him in slight surprise, but his eyes were still closed. Had he not spoken, she could have mistaken his pose for a deep sleep. Realizing that he was going to continue, she paused and waited for the words to come.

"I won't train you to use a sword…because you need to find your own way to fight." He opened his eyes and stared hard at the girl. "If you are serious about defending those who you care about…then you'll find out for yourself what your strength is." He closed his eyes again and turned away, allowing the girl to grasp the words he had just said.

"Besides," he continued in the same serious manner, "There's too many swordsmen in this crew already, any more is a crowd. You've got no upper body strength anyway, like a marshmallow." She blushed in admiration yet frowned in defiant complaint, but decided against back-talking the older teen. Sighing she smiled a little and murmured to herself as she descended the rope latter.

"Heh, yeah…you never did like playing teach, ne, Zoro?"

_~End flashback~_

Zoro looked back down through the window to check on the girl below. Craning his neck to get better view he was surprised to find her slumped over the rail, deeply asleep in the same relaxed position that she was watching the sea in. _That's almost as bad as when Ace fell asleep in the middle of the meal…_Zoro thought while sweat-dropping about that particular memory. _Falling asleep while half-standing up and watching the moon…that takes some effort._

He sighed to himself, remembering that stuff like this really shouldn't be coming from a guy who can down more than 20 jugs of ale and still remain completely sober, then sleep through some of the most ridiculous weather patterns on the Grand Line. Sighing to himself, he mentally noted that he should probably go down and get her before she falls off the ship, knowing that she can't swim and all. _That's right…that thing with her…power… Well, that was a shocker…_ Zoro grimaced at the fact; it was only a few hours later and none of the rest of the crew including himself could get over the event, and none of them had been able to really figure out what to make of her now, knowing how dangerous she was.

_To be Continued…(with more flashbacks)_

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Ha! Doesn't it just burn you up that I left off here? I didn't want to...'cus this chapter's very lame and has no suspense...the next chapter should be better, if I write it nicely. I have seemed to be in a spiral downward in my writing the next scene here lately. Haha! The loss of action, the need to know what Sora did, hahaha! ...Ok, so it's lame. I'm sorry! It was either this evil evil teaser, or no chapter for like two weeks! You choose.

-(1)This translates into: Arigato Sora, you are the best!

-If I forgot to mention it earlier… Miku means 'meat' in Japanese. I lost track of the Japanese words I used here...please tell me if you don't know...

-Ok… so I'm gonna have to kill Zoro one of these days for that comment about 'leave it to a girl to screw things up' and 'women and strange behavior'…tomorrow maybe…I had a deliciously large steak tonight and it would ruin the taste of the meat if I killed him tonight…*hehehe*

-Yes, 'Huffy' is a word. Look it up in the dictionary.

- YES, 'scarff' is a word. You 'scarff down food', like you eat it so fast that…oh, nevermind…


	8. Lost and Found History

I am such a bad person. I cut it in half (again). So now...chapters seven, eight, and nine are kind of like...a trilogy. Oooh! Sugei! Also, I am not in the mood to do anything funny, and I don't really like how this chapter came out, I will leave the critiquing to you viewers if it is terrible... or not. I also now have a twitter account...so follow me if you care...and don't if you care...but please, whatever you do...care.

R-E-V-I-E-W

**Disclaimer:** I do not and never will own One Piece or any Trademarks

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**7. Lost and Found History**

_~Yesterday evening~_

Sora had begun to take night classes with Robin a few evenings ago in the library. After borrowing some clothes from Nami which suspiciously fit her very well in the upper department, she chose to wear a downy filled, silvery check-sewn vest with silky fake-fur lining the neck and hood. Underneath she had on a black long-sleeved shirt, and matched the outfit with cut-up jeans. She hurriedly dressed and raced to the library to begin the night's session with the older woman.

Apparently she knew nothing about the Grand Line's mysteries or history, and seemed even more fascinated with it than even the archeologist herself. Delighted that she could elaborate some facts with the younger girl, Robin had been spending a lot of time talking with her about theories and tales of the great oceans. Deeper into one of their conversations, Sora had mentioned Poneglyphs, at which Robin hushed up quickly.

She tried a few more times to open the woman up and finally succeeded a few nights later. Robin finally agreed to discuss with the girl about them only because of the teen's honest curiosity with them and her fervent desire to learn, and also agreed to show her how to read a few characters, but she refused to outright teach her the language in question. So, for the past few nights both woman and girl had stayed up late into the evenings discussing the Poneglyphs and the lost history.

Tonight Robin was determined to learn about the younger girl, and of her mysterious knowledge about the entire crew's pasts. Knowing about the girl's interest with older island's histories, Robin began that evening by speaking on history of Ohara. Surprised by the normally sensitive subject, Sora was quickly enraptured with the words as Robin began to describe in wonderful detail stories of the beautiful forest, the ancient architecture, and the huge tree; in-which lay the famous Ohara library.

After a while of speaking, Robin paused suddenly, causing Sora to snap out of her blissful thoughts and make the younger girl wonder as to what the archeologist was about to say next. Choosing each word carefully so as not to startle or intimidate the girl, Robin spoke. "Sora-san." Still watching her with interest and mild feeling of unease as to what the woman was going to say, Sora waited. Robin continued, "I suppose…that I really don't need to explain…" Robin paused, searching for the right words. "…What happened on that island…twenty years ago. Ne, Sora-san?" The woman had put it as gently as she could, and watched the other girl for her reaction.

Sora, realizing where Robin was getting at, fidgeted and inwardly pinched herself for not noticing the older woman's intentions sooner. She had been enjoying learning the history and hearing these amazing stories from the archeologist so much, that she had almost forgotten that the woman's personality and natural curiosity would eventually lead her to try and get to the truth. Knowing that she could not avoid the indirect question, Sora looked away guiltily to the floor. Seeing that it would take a bit more pushing to get the truth out, Robin tried again, this time approaching the matter directly and not skirting around.

"Sora-san" Robin said gently, and Sora looked up to slowly meet the woman's gaze. Her eyes still had that same guilty look, and Robin continued undeterred. "Sora-san. I need to know the truth. How much do you really know?" She had been trying to avoid this particular question, but knew that it was probably the only way to get the answers she needed. "What are you hiding from us?"

"I…" Sora's gaze dropped to the floor. "I…know everything." She turned her head up towards the window. Robin waited for Sora to continue, understanding that she couldn't be pushed to talk about something that she wasn't ready to discuss. She had to answer in her own time, not to have the truth forced out of her. Even though her face was turned from Robin, she could still see the other girl's eyes as they glazed over slightly, as though she had entered her own, separate world.

"Ever since I found myself on that island, I've...well, I've had this weird power that I never remember having before. When I touch people…when I come in contact with any part of their skin, I…" She paused a moment, and took a breath. "…I learn most everything that has happened to them in their lives. It's like… watching a surveillance monitor of their past. It's fascinating really, being able to see and hear everything important that has happened in their lives. But…" she paused, and sadness deepened her voice for a moment. "I can feel their pain too."

She did not show it, but inside of herself Robin was shocked, and if she had not seen the things she had on the Grand Line, the archeologist would have almost disbelieved Sora's story. She was amazed at this power, and wondered just how much emotion this girl had been forced to endure in the past. _If she really knows about all of us, then she has felt all of our pain._ Robin shuddered involuntarily to herself. _So many of us have had horrible pasts. Has she really been forced to watch as these things happened? Has she really had to take upon herself all of our pain and torment? _

She thought to Nami's childhood with the vicious mermen, and her own tortured years growing up. _She had to live with that alongside us, even…But, even so, how much of her own past has she been through? Even with this mysterious power of hers, there is just something about her that seems deeper. Someone else's memories shouldn't have had this much of an effect on her, even with how she is. There must be something in her own past, something that affected her this way. _She focused again on what the girl was saying, for she was very worried that she would miss some aspect of this girl's tale.

"As for my history…well…" Sora paused again, and Robin saw much confusion in her features as the girl thought deeply. "Something must have happened to me on that island I was on, because when I woke up, I had no clue as to where I was or how I had gotten there." She thought some more. "I…I can remember a little about my past, before that island though…It's very vague and I can't remember most of the details though." She looked to Robin again.

"I would suppose…that according to what memory I have left of my past…there was about a week I can't remember at all before the island…that week is a time that I just can't place at all…" She looked strained, as though trying hard to remember. Shaking her head, Sora continued on. "What I do remember, however, is that for most of my life I had lived on a large island, here, on the Grand Line." Strange look grew on her face as she recalled her past, large mixes of emotion as she struggled to comprehend what remained of her life before. Then she began to speak.

"I was an only child, and I lived with my parents on one of the smaller, inhabited islands surrounding the mainland. The whole area was lakes, rivers, huge forests, and wild animals. It was a natural wonder, untouched by technology and humans even though a few tiny villages such as mine existed right next to it. I remember that the entire island was a huge wildlife preserve, and it had been like that for hundreds of years." She stopped for a moment to think, and Robin took that time to ask a small question.

Putting it as gently as she could, Robin asked, "Sora-san, do remember the name of that island?"

Sora's look didn't change, but she answered the woman "Yes…I've lived there for…" She zoned out again, deep in thought. "…15 years…I'd been there for that long…practically my whole life…of course…I'd have to know…" She seemed to be focusing hard on something in her past, her eyes stared intently into nothing as Robin waited silently for her to continue. "...The Royal Isles…yeah…that's what it was…"

Robin was wondering something that Sora had been doing for a bit now, and asked "Sora-san. You keep speaking in the past, as though these things are no longer…" She hesitated, unsure if she should continue.

Sora shook her head and told the woman "No…it's ok…I remember now. I grew up in those forests; I knew every nook and cranny, every stream and lake. I could never forget that. I loved tracking wolf prints on the forest paths, coming upon moose with their spring calves, fishing in the afternoon sun. It was wonderful, swimming in the cold water, smelling the fresh air each morning, watching fog roll in and engulf the town for days, climbing to the peaks of the tree-topped mountains. It was paradise, and I had lived there my whole life."

Her glazed look disappeared, and her eyes were clear as she looked at the archeologist and continued her tale.

"But…my parents were the leaders of the division which protected the reserve. There had been a faction in the division which had been growing for a number of years, who were against the heads of the island. They weren't satisfied with letting all of that land be let alone. They wanted to develop it, to sell the lumber and hunt the game. They were tired of staying on the small islands all of the time. My family was, like the other division leaders, fairly more well-to-do than the other people who lived there, and we were heckled for it often. I was berated at school by my peers who disliked me, threats were sent to us, and once someone tried to set fire to our house."

"My parents had been fighting the battle for a long time, and I thought that their wills would never back down. They were so strong, and they didn't listen to anything anyone told them. They always did what they wanted, no matter what anyone else thought or said."

She chuckled slightly for a moment, and then continued. "Heh…I guess that's where I got some of myself from, huh? I thought…I thought that they loved the forest as much as I did." Her face fell.

"That all changed though, when one day I came home and they said that they had found work at a farther away island, and that we were moving."

"They refused to listen to my protests, and I demanded to know why they would just surrender the forest like this. My parents were the only people left in the way of those who wanted the land. When they left, the others could do as they liked. My parents told me…" Sora stopped a moment, and Robin witnessed a sudden, startling display of sadness, disbelieve, and anger radiate from the girl.

The anger forced its way through her voice, making her words almost like liquid fire, as though she wanted to destroy the people she was talking about. "…those…_people…_told me…they said:

'_Sora, there's no money left in defending the forest. There's good money where we're heading, and you'll be able to make some new friends. That's what's important, right? That we're well off, and that we can make connections in the real world. There's no one out in the trees, we need to be with real people, not in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forests.' _

Then they looked at me, so seriously, calmly…so…_happy…_and said:

'_It's just a bunch of trees right? They'll grow back. People need the land, and this is the best around. It doesn't matter.'_

"They were perfectly honest, I knew when they were lying, and they weren't then."

There was almost a dull, emotionless look about her now, Robin noted. Upon looking into her eyes however, they were a grey-brown again, and in a disbelieving, sorrowed tone she continued, "After we moved to the other island…I went back with them to see what had happened. It was as I had feared: The land was ravaged. They had cut all of the trees, and what they didn't remove by hand they burned away. All of the animals were gone, hunted or fled with nowhere else to go. Then, when we came into my village…"

Sora had a sad look in her eyes, as though she was seeing the scene play out in her mind right there and then. Suddenly she froze up, and a confused, terrified look entered her eyes. She looked pained now, and grabbing her head and started to flinch in protest. Worried now about the girl's health, Robin reached over to her and put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, steadying the shaking. "Sora? Sora, what's wrong?" Robin urgently asked. She was worried that these memories, if what she had said about not previously recalling her past was true, were causing the girl serious emotional pain if they were violent or menacing enough.

Breathing quickly now, Sora began to sweat as she pinched her eyes together and flashes of pictures formed in her head. Y_elling, screaming…flames…a man…a man laughing…red, red…everywhere…a blurred face standing in front of her, screaming her name…a name…a girl…that girl…red…blood everywhere…_ Clutching her head harder, she shrieked "Eii, eii! Yamero yo, dame!" She fell out of the chair onto her knees in pain, clutching the center of her back in pain where it felt like something was burning deep into her flesh.

"Sora, Sora!" Robin was close to panicking at this point, she tried to call out her name to get the girl out of the memory. "Sora! You're not at that island anymore! You're here with us: Zoro, Luffy, Nami, remember them! You're here on the ship, Sora!"

Suddenly, the girl's eyes opened and she breathed fast and heavily, arms dropping to her sides. Robin's arms still holding her upright, she let all of the tension in her body go and would have fallen if not for the other woman. "…Robin…?" She felt in a daze, as though this were the dream and what she had just remembered was the reality.

Robin let out a breath she didn't know that she had been holding, relieved that the girl seemed to be recovering. "Sora…Sora, you're here with us now. It's ok." Sora seemed drained, but aware of where she was at least for the moment. A confused, exhausted look covered her feverish face.

She flinched when Robin moved in the direction of the door. "No, please don't wake anybody up! It's too late at night for that…" The young girl winced at the movement but managed to raise her head to face the woman. "Please don't bother the others; I'm fine now, really." She managed a weak smile that the archeologist knew was false. Robin didn't believe that Sora was alright in anyway, but knew that if waking up Chopper and the others would put more pressure on the girl right now, that she couldn't take that chance.

_It must be almost two in the morning…I suppose that I can at least wait a few hours…_ Realizing just now how terribly tired she was, Robin walked over to the girl once more, and told her that they should get to bed. Sora tried to stand, and seemed to have regained a little of her strength since she made it to a standing position without any help from the older woman. Robin offered to walk to the room with her, but Sora declined, and said that she was going to be a few minutes more. She had some stuff to take care of, she told Robin, and reluctantly the woman allowed her sore feet to carry her off to her own soft bed.

Sora followed the archeologist onto deck then parted ways with her; as the woman walked off to the girl's sleeping quarters Sora walked over to the circling bench around the mast and almost collapsed when sitting down. Breathing in deeply the cool, fresh air of the night Sora felt rejuvenated, and the pains and heat of the memories from minutes earlier left her mind as the allowed the still air to seep into her pores and invigorate her. Glancing out at the water she watched as some fog began rolling in from the east then stood, to her tired legs' annoyance, to walk over to the rope latter. She wanted to check up on who was on lookout tonight.

Halfway up the rope latter she realized that she couldn't hear any snoring, and wondered if anyone actually had heard her before when she had accidentally cried out. Shrugging off the sick feeling, she allowed the night to engulf her once again as she carefully opened the hatch to the crow's nest room. Unsurprised, she found the green-haired swordsman in a position one could easily mistake for sleep, if not that his hands were tightly gripping his three katana which lay on his chest.

Feeling a grin making its way onto her tired face, she sighed, and said, "Hey, if you're going to listen in on someone's conversation, at least do it when you're not on duty." The body before her opened one lazy eye, and groaned.

"And I was having the greatest nap too. About the party I'll throw when we finish this infernal Grand Line, with tons of beer, and wine, and food…" He almost moaned. She grinned again.

"Liar." She told him, and then poked his stomach. Flinching in annoyance and protest he scrunched his face and opened both his eyes to see the girl standing in front of him.

Sighing, he sat up slowly, placing his katana next to him on the seat. He looked at her quizzically, wondering what it was that she came up to say. She turned away from the swordsman, and looking out the window she nonchalantly said, "There's a fog moving in. I figured that since you, of course, were watching diligently, that you wouldn't be able to miss it." Frowning, he turned to the window and looked to where her gaze was set on. Indeed, a fog was seen far in the distance, though not progressing at the speed of any weird fog like those Marines had used.

"It'll blow over." He stated, completely unconcerned with the matter. He watched her as she walked around the room slowly, her eyes feigning disinterest in the man. "So…what did you really come up here to say?" Zoro asked subtly, catching the girl off guard for a moment. She didn't meet his eyes and replied.

"Nothing, really I only came to show you that-"

"Come on." He interrupted her. Knowing that denial was useless against him, she let him speak. "That was a stupid excuse." He focused his gaze to meet her hazel eyes. "What is it that you want to tell me?" He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer.

The same look of mild disinterest sat on her face, but warmth radiated from her eyes and she said, "I wanted to thank you. For what you told me a few nights ago." Zoro raised his eyes, startled. He hadn't expected this. She continued, either unknowing or uncaring of the swordsman's surprise.

"I know what you mean now. I'll find something that only I can do, something that I can use to protect everyone." She turned her gaze to him, and calm confidence shone through her now forest-green eyes. "So, I just wanted to say thanks, Zoro."

She looked at him as though expecting an answer, and after a minute the man scoffed and laid back down, then closed his eyes with a frown on his face. "I didn't do anything. Jeez, you talk way too much, you know?"

She smiled, then turned and climbed down the latter, knowing that she had accomplished enough. Setting foot on the deck of the quiet ship she started towards the girl's room, finally ready to retire, when something caught her eye in the distance. Brows furrowing, she turned towards the water and stood very still. _Yes…there it is again…what is that? _In the light of the breaking dawn she squinted, trying to get a hold of the shape on the water's surface. Suddenly, she realized what the figure was, and stared in shock. "No…not already!" she whispered unbelieving, then raced back over to the rope ladder. Not caring if her voice was heard by the other crewmembers, she yelled up at the crow's nest, "Zoro! There's a Marine ship headed this way!"

_To Be Continued... (again)_

* * *

- "Eii, eii! Yamero yo! Dame!" is literally translated (kind of) to 'No, no! Stop it, no!'

-Remember, they are still in flashbacks here where it is left off. But this next chapter coming up will the be end of the flashbacks, finally.

-You know…while we're on the subject of pics…I got an account at Deviant Art, and I put on some pics of a mysterious fruit…hehehe. So whenever I want to make something clear, I will post a note like this so that you can see it for yourself;)

-I am taking some advice (given by a reviewer person who I had a conversation with) that I should probably put the words of one person into one paragraph, and the words of someone else into a separate paragraph. Thoughts as well. Yes, I do realize that this is how normal people write, so I will actually make an effort to be normal. Also, it was kinda bugging me even before I had that chat with that person, so I did realize that what I was doing was not really the greatest. OK, ja ne.


	9. Impossibilities

I...have...FIXED.

**Usopp:** Hey, you got another guest speaker! Yay, it's me, the wonderful, amazing, Captain-

**Sora: **Um...maybe you shouldn't be so excited about this...

**Usopp:** Why not? I thought that you told me I could introduce this because it is a once-in-a-lifetime event for me, the amazing Captain Usopp, to give the disclaimer!

**Sora:** Ummmm...yeah...I meant it...but...well...*Moves hands around nervously*

**Usopp:** ...Something bad is gonna happen to me, isn't there?

**Sora: ...**Enjoy this 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity, I guess...enjoy the 'lifetime' part too...*Cannot make eyecontact*

**Usopp:** ...AAAHHHHH! *Runs screaming in fear as Sora tackles him and handcuffs him to chair*

**Sora: **Ok, you still have to say the disclaimer.

**Usopp:** Ohh...I'm getting my '**disclaimer:** Sora-does-not-own-One-Piece-or-any-Trademarks' disease...and my 'oh-I-cannot-be-in-this-chapter-or-I-will-surely-die' disease! *Yanks pathetically at handcuffs*

**Sora:** ...*Leaves room to prepare for scene, and Usopp is still stuck in room.* Ummm...ok, so yeah, I feel bad...but...IT'S NOT MY FAULT!...even if I didn't want to, this was the best solution...BLAME THE INTERNET!

* * *

**8. Impossibilities **

_~Same~_

A green covered head appeared at the word Marine, and by the time the sentence was out of her mouth, he was standing beside her on the deck. Gripping his katana tightly in the early morning rays he watched as Sora pointed out the ship, and they both stared at the approaching vessel in tense worry. Fear knotted up in the girl's gut as Zoro yelled in the direction of the men's dorm, and the commotion brought Nami and Robin onto the deck soon after.

The sleep gone from her face, Nami marched determinedly over to where Zoro stood unmoving on the grassy lawn, and demanded to know why in the Grand Line he would make them get up this early in the morning. As the rest of the boys started to sleepily stagger out of their doorway, Zoro said simply, "There's a Marine ship approaching fast. Get ready for it."

The annoyance and grumbling ceased in a moment as the crew registered this information. They had been dreading this call, even though they figured that it was pretty inevitable that the Marines would eventually return. The more capable people started to hastily scramble around to get ready while the slower ones (a.k.a. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper) took a few seconds to stare out at the sea where Zoro's finger pointed out the ship, then they stared at it for a total of 5 seconds until they also jumped up and reacted/screamed in fear. While Usopp quivered in terror and rushed to the safest place he could think of, the crow's nest, Luffy raced up to the lion's head and threw his arms in the air. "Yosh! Let's go kick their a-!"

Nami strode up to him from where she was going over some calculations and hit him on the head, causing him to hold it in great pain. "Baka! What if that Doflamingo guy is on that ship, huh? We need to make sure that Sora isn't taken captive by that guy again! Pay attention." She scolded.

Luffy sat up quickly at the man's name, then he frowned and thumping the side of his fist into his palm and said very straightforward and determinedly "Oh! That flamingo-b-! I have to kick his a-!" Then frowning he jumped up and screamed again, at which Nami hit him again and told him to be quiet.

"Baka…" She muttered while returning to her charts. She yelled down to the lower deck, "Franky, come up here and steer the ship while I go over these charts!" The muscled cyborg gave her a nod, then grinned and ran up the stairs quickly to take over the controls. Nami returned to her papers which she had laid out on the rail. After a minute or so of tensely glancing up at the steadily approaching ship, she bit her lip and strode over to the railing overlooking the lawn deck. "Minna! We're not going to be able to out run it! We've got to stay and fight them off, so be ready!" With her announcement, the tension on deck rose a level; Zoro and Sanji's natural competitiveness wasn't even seen right now, as the green-haired swordsman recounted his last encounter with Marines and the blond cook thought worryingly of how they may be after Sora.

Brooke stood further back from the side of the ship facing the other vessel, his cane held between his skeletal hands with care. Chopper raced up to join Usopp, who had Kabuto ready if need be and was watching the oncoming vessel from his current hiding-hole with exaggerated terror. Standing near the swordsman to his left was Sora, who looked at the ship with a mixed expression of fear, and hatred on her pale face.

Luffy stretched over to the main mast then plopped down next to Sora, giving her a quick smile of confidence. _He's not worried_, Sora thought to herself as she looked into the confident, almost excited eyes of the pirate captain. _He looks…eager, as if he really wants to beat them up. I wish that I could feel like he does, without any fear or worry that we could lose. _She met his gaze, and just had to smile a little at his confidence.

As the crew on the lower deck tensed themselves for the oncoming ship to be in range for them to attack, Robin, who was standing up on the main deck near the railing, noticed something about the ship. "Navigator-san," The older woman said with a tense calm to the navigator. "The Marines have halted their approach." Incredulously Nami looked from Robin to the ship, trying to sort out what the archeologist had just stated.

_What the-? They've stopped?_ Nami thought to herself, stopping herself for a moment to carefully watch the other vessel.

"Nani? Why'd it stop?" Luffy looked up behind him at Nami, his annoyance and confusion clear. Confused looks passed over his crew mates faces as they watched the Marine ship stop a while away from the Sunny.

From up in the crow's nest Usopp watched the opposing vessel through his sniper glasses, a worried frown covering his tan face. _Why'd it stop? _Usopp thought worriedly to himself in confusion. _This feels wrong, something's not right…this is too much like last time…_

"Huh? What's happening?" Franky complained loudly, as Sanji put a cigarette up to his lips and lit it, trying to figure out what was going on. Robin watched the ship in mild confusion, then glanced back up to the just-as-confused navigator.

So intent on staring at the other ship, Nami just barely noticed the blurred shape that was creeping towards the unprotected girl on the lower deck. Her mind took a moment to try and register what it was, then suddenly realized what was happening. Gripping the railing so hard that her hands turned white, she yelled towards they young captain, "Luffy! Get next to Sora and protect her! They're coming-" The words were barely out of the navigator's mouth when the black shape seemed almost to materialize next to the black-haired boy.

"Nani o-"Luffy said, then barely evaded the steel blade as it went for his head. "Ahh!" Leaping backwards in a swift motion, he looked up to see a figure entirely clad in black. The teen gaped at the sudden scene with shock, and his hesitance gave the man enough time to aim a swipe at the young captain's stomach.

Stretching his gut away from the deadly swinging blade, he desperately tried to dodge the assassin's flurry of fast attacks to assorted bits of the rubber boy's body. While he was stretching and moving about wildly in the air, he cried out in a shocked, confused manner, "Nani? A Nin-JA!"

For some reason, this seemed to snap the other pirates out of their sudden stupor. Zoro took five long strides toward his captain, but never got the chance to help him. At that moment, blades met blades as two of Zoro's swords met with a different blade, and the swordsman found himself facing a second black-clad figure. "Out of my way." Zoro said menacingly, and began swinging blows at the opposing man.

Nami cried out quickly, "Sanji! Behind you!" Not even looking behind him, the blonde snapped his leg up to meet the glinted blade which had been aimed for his head moments before. Grunting a little under the impact, he knocked the third man away from him a distance, then let loose a volley of kicks as he bit the end of his cigarette tightly. "You s- marines, trying to hurt Sora-chan!"

From the crow's nest, Usopp and Chopper stared at the scene folding out before them with terror. His sharpshooter eyes reacted to a sudden blur behind the unseeing orange-haired navigator, and without thinking he yelled out, "Nami! Look out!"

Her hand went for her Clima-Tact as she turned around to see the man upon her. _Too fast! I can't-_ She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of steel against skin she knew she could not avoid. Instead, she heard the sound of steel against metal, and looked up quickly to see Franky standing with his arms outstretched in front of her, defending the girl with his iron-hard body.

Removing the skin from his metal right fist, Franky looked behind at the navigator and grinned. "Oi, you alright nee-chan?" Nami nodded her head mutely, then watched the cyborg as he flew his iron fist at the assassin. She pulled out her blue weapon and began her attack as well, while silently hoping that she wouldn't get killed by the massive amounts of ammunition Franky was firing off at the opponent.

At the same time a fifth figure climbed over the side of the railing and began to assault Robin with kunai knives. His aim was so excellent that she wasn't able to stand still long enough for her to concentrate on using her powers, so she attempted to dodge and evade as best she could, even though she realized that she wouldn't last long if she didn't end this fast. She made a swift motion with her hand, "_Seis Fleur Twist," _and arms sprouted from the man's torso, twisting him in an unnatural angle. She smiled slightly, but quickly a stunned look formed as the man righted himself with a sickening _crunch_, and he began to attack even harder. _What are these men?_ The woman asked herself in confusion as she tried to manage another attack.

On the other side of the ship on the lawn deck, Brooke was putting up a fight of his own with not one but two more attackers. His fencing was driving them back, but as they began to assault him with two curved swords each, he realized that he couldn't defend against them both and still land a hit. "Oh yo-hohoho! This is quite challenging, you two! Yo-hohohoho!"

Watching from above the whole battle was the little doctor and the sharpshooter, who had yet to join the fight. Tense with worry, Chopper knotted his hooves together and cried out, "Oh, I can't stand it anymore! I don't care how scared I am, those are my nakama, and they need me!" He ran over to the opening in the floor, just as Usopp began calling after him.

"Oi, oi Chopper! What are you-!" The little reindeer jumped down from the hole to the ground, and as his hooves met with grass they grew huge, into more humanoid versions of feet. He ran over to where Brooke was struggling with his attackers, and in Heavy Point began to throw punches alongside the skeletal violist.

"Yohohohoho! Arigato gozaimasu, Chopper-san!" Brooke said as he elegantly slashed at the assassin before him. Brooke and Chopper began to lead the two opponents away, and Chopper's assistance aided the skeleton in evening the match out somewhat.

Now that each of the Straw Hats were busy with his or her own battles, Usopp still cowardly watched from his 'post' in the lookout for what was happening below. He balanced his body on the rope ladder leading up into the weight room, because he couldn't see the whole ship from the room above. Clinging to the rope for dear life, he thought about what he should do. _Ohhh…I need to be brave, a brave warrior of the sea! Yeah, I'll go down and help the others! I'll single-handedly show them how tough Captain Usopp can really be!_

Taking a long gulp, he began to make his way down the ladder. As he got within two yards of the grassy deck below, Zoro's swords began to fly through the air as they slashed away at his opponent, almost skinning the descending Usopp. "Eeek!" The teen shrieked in fear and bolted up to the top of the rope ladder again, his heart thumping with cowardice fear. "Oh man, that was a close one…" He let out a breath, but stopped his thoughts as his trained eyes spotted a black blur behind Sora.

"Huh?" He looked over to where the girl was hiding near the bench surrounding the main mast. She had wanted to get out of everyone's way as they fought, so she had hidden next to the bench so that no one would notice her. The man behind her pulled a gun out from his black outfit, and pointed it at the oblivious girl's back. Standing a good four or five feet behind her, it was easy for him to go unnoticed by his target and the rest of the crew. Except for the observant sharpshooter, whose eyes grew wide as he saw the gun being raised.

His hand immediately went for his small slingshot, and then he recalled that he had left it in his room as they got up. He swore silently to himself, while a cold sweat began to break out on his fear-filled face. His eyes still trained on the raised revolver, his left hand groped around above his head in the crow's nest searching for his larger slingshot. As his fingers clasped around Kabuto's handle, he saw the assassin cock the hammer and rest his finger on the trigger. Pulling the bands of his slingshot back, he set his sights on the assassin just as the other pulled the trigger. _"Namari Boshi!" _

_000000000_

Her eyes just noticing the carefully still sniper up on the rope ladder, she turned her head just in time to feel something whiz through the air past her cheek. Sora watched the gun clatter to the ground as its owner momentarily faltered, holding the middle of his forehead in pain. Shocked, she took a few steps back towards where Luffy fought a few yards away, and then turned to watch the sharpshooter above her. Registering what he had just done, she watched, shaking, as Usopp quickly turned his gaze to Luffy. The teen yelled down amidst the loud commotion on deck to his captain, "Luffy! Go protect Sora! He's trying to-"

His cry was cut off by a gunshot piercing through the noise of the fight below. The man below had only been dazed by the weak attack, and in a fury had pulled the trigger on the sharpshooter instead. Time stopped as Luffy turned to see the sharpshooter still poised in mid-sentence, a shocked expression on his now pale face as the bullet carved deeper into his chest. The teen's eyes grew wide with fear as the world around the rubber captain slowed; the only noise he could hear was the sound of his own terror-filled heartbeat as it rhythmically sounded, drowning out the sounds of battle around him and his comrade's cries.

…_thump_…_this can't be happening…_

"Usopp!" Nami's voice carried across the entire ship, her scream piercing through the air like a siren. Her attacker took this moment to try and slice at her open back, but Franky took him out with a round of bullets from his arm.

"Usopp-bro!" Franky threw his attacker over the side of the ship in a rage and a swift _crack-_ing punch to the face.

…_thump…it's Usopp…_

"Sniper-kun!" Robin yelled at him, then turned quickly to react as her opponent sent a flurry of kunai at her. In a tempered anger, she paused and let three hit her so that she could focus her power. Wincing at the knives cutting into her flesh, she called out, "_Seis Fleurs!"_ As the man fell from the many hands sprouting from his bent body, they lifted him and threw his body over the side of the railing.

…_thump…he never gets…thump… hit like that…_

Brooke turned to see the teen, and said aloud, "Oh no…Usopp-san!" An almost angry look came over his skeletal face features as he delivered the final blow to his opponenent. _"Hanauta Sanchou: Yahazu Giri!"_ The man fell over the side of the ship, screaming.

…_thump…Usopp always dodges…thump…_

Chopper punched the black robed man in the gut and heard him splash into the water, then and turned to see his friend on the rope ladder. _Oh no…_"Usopp!" He screamed at the sharpshooter, then remembered to react as he started running in Heavy Point towards the mast, his doctorly instincts taking over. _He's been shot…he's been shot…Usopp's been…_

…_he couldn't have just…thump…_

"D- it… Usopp!" Sanji gasped as his attacker punched his gut, and the cook sent him over the edge with a well placed kick to the face.

"What- Usopp!" Zoro took a glance up at the sniper from his position. He had locked blades with his opponent, and the man took the other's distraction as a chance to push forward. As he attempted to slice at the swordsman, Zoro looked back at the assassin with cold hatred in his eyes, and pressed harder on his two blades. He pushed him away for a moment, then quickly unsheathed this third blade and set it between his teeth. "_Oni…giri!_" The move was too fast for the eye to see, and seconds later, the black-clad man screamed, and fell over into the water.

…_thump…he can't be…_

The sharpshooter's hand jerkily grasped his chest, where a large blotch of red was growing, and made some sputtering noises. Blood began to flow down his shirt, and down his legs; a trickle began to leak out both corners of his lips. His eyes couldn't focus; they looked distant and cloudy as the world went dark to his sight. His left hand let the green slingshot drop as his right slipped off of the rope, and his body plummeted down to the deck below, a vacant expression on his face.

"Usopp!" Luffy screamed, as loud as his lungs would allow. His eyes fought back tears as his face reflected the emotions of the entire crew; pain, horror, and shock. The people around him moved in slow-motion, like they were underwater and barely crawled through the air. He couldn't move, but yelled again, now more as a warning for someone to help, desperate for anything to help his nakama, "Usopp! Usopp!" Tears wouldn't come; he was going into shock, and so his whole body seemed numb.

Suddenly, time returned to normal as another voice broke the stunned haze. "Usopp! Chopper, catch him!" Sora screamed at the little reindeer, who lunged at the falling form and barely was able to reach him in time. His burly arms wrapped tenderly around the too-still teen, the doctor gasped for breath as he lay him on the ground and began to check the injuries on the black-haired sniper. Luffy watched the scene blankly, he had begun to hyperventilate, and the world was coming back into focus.

_Pulse…pulse…d-! Ok, his pulse is low, he must be going into shock…I need to hurry…_ He called over to Luffy, "He's alive! I'm gonna bring him to the medical room, I have to get this bullet out now!" Raising him gently off the grass, the large reindeer rushed the barley breathing boy to the doctor's room, his chest heaving with the effort of madly dashing without jostling Usopp too much. _Stay alive Usopp…oh gods stay alive!_

Still in shock, the teen captain turned back from the sight of his half-dead nakama being hurried away to look again at the girl a few yards away, and panicked at what he saw. The revolver still smoking, the assassin turned on the girl before him, whose gaze was trained on the fallen sharpshooter. The world once again dipped into slow-motion as Luffy realized the man's intentions. Sliding the barrel, he lifted it towards Sora, who turned in time to see his evil gaze set on her. She whipped around to look at Luffy, who stood a good ten yards away still. Stock still, he opened his mouth and yelled "Sora!" at her. It seemed to come at a snail's pace, his heart drummed in his ears. He began to take a step forward but knew that he couldn't make it in time.

The girl looked, terrified, into the boy's eyes. Their gazes met, and he felt a familiar tingle sensation in his whole body, but it was blocked out by the tremendous amounts of adrenaline surging through him. Just as the assassin pulled the trigger, and the bullet met the air, she said almost in a whisper, "Luffy!" Desperation clung to her word as the bullet sailed through the air, and spiraled deep into her back, aimed for her heart. The teen captain's eyes expanded.

"No! Sora!" He yelled back, trying to stretch his arm. _What, why can't I-_ his eyes trained on her small figure, he watched in surprise, and confusion as the bullet failed to pierce her skin, but instead…

She could only stare in silence as she watched her skin stretch like…_rubber?_ The bullet finished its path through her _rubbery_ _skin_, and bounced back to the revolver it came from, but the man was not there. He had hopped over the side of the ship, and vanished under the dark waves. Fear and confusion bubbled in her brain as too many thoughts tried to get her attention all at once; the feeling of the bullet on her, how the contact felt only like, well, a stretch, and most importantly…

"Luffy, behind you!" She screamed at the boy captain, just as he felt the bullet pierce his chest. His eyes widened in shock, he could only stare at the steadily increasing stain of blood on his vest, and feel himself growing weaker and weaker with horrible, unknown pain. His nakama on deck looked with horror at the scene: of the girl untouched by the bullet, and at their captain taken down by the one weapon which he could never be injured by. The shock reached everyone now, and no one knew what to say, or how to react. No one tried to stop the fleeing assassin as he leapt over the side of the vessel. They were too deeply stunned to react to anything now.

The forgotten opponent leaped over the side of the ship to follow his comrades, leaving the previously hidden revolver on deck next to the injured boy. The young captain fell, stricken with pain, confusion, and fear. He screamed, a long, angst-filled, tortured cry, meant for no one but himself, so that me may bear all of his own pain, and his own mental pain as well: the pain of being unable to protect his nakama. The green-haired swordsman, his face unreadable with emotion, slowly turned his head to the stricken girl before him. "Sora...what have you done?"

She turned to him, tears streaming down her face as her stress and fear washed over her body finally, her sobs shook her body with her small response.

"...I'm...a monster."

* * *

OK, so now you should be caught up with the random flashback-timeline thing. So, next chapter will be the official catching- up from like 3 chapters ago when I started it from _midnight one week later_. Yay!...oh wait...I totally maybe just killed Usopp, maybe Luffy as well, horribly injured Robin with kunai knives, made Sora be the almost killer of Luffy(on accident), and now everyone probably hates her guts/fears her for terrible reasons.

NOT YAY:=


	10. Results

**A/N: (Beginning) **In celebration for the newly arrived final installment of the Whitebeard War Saga, the Marineford Arc, and the newest opening ("One Day" by Rootless), I have decided to get off of my lethargic butt and finish writing this chapter. Seriously this has been half-way done for about 4 or so months…So HUZZAH! Go new OP opening, go Marineford arc, and go me for being able to stay away from the manga for the past 20 released chapters!

So, I have learned NOT to write such long chapters (oh wait, I like doing that!), I have learned that summer homework is a pain in the 'word I should not say', I have learned that I hated with a passion trying to decide Usopp's fate then writing it down (seriously, that is the single point that took me this whole time…), and I also discovered that I love writing about moonlit scenes that hint at romance but do not actually touch it.

Also…hm…oh yeah! Here is the huge, ratifying speech-thing I typed up and am putting on all of my next chapters. Note: I NEVER would abandon my stories. Lazy, stubborn, and boring I am, but I do not go back on my ideas. It may take a while, but the story will always go on. Especially considering I have so much I want done in here. Originally I wanted to start an idea for a story, but since then I've been Thinking, and it has (in my head) grown into such more than my plans dictated for it. I have so much I want to say, and so little time that I feel inspired enough to overcome my bouts of laziness and write it down. So, bear with me, and be patient as I am. I will not forget, (how can I?), and I will continue, whatever it takes and no matter what happens.

I Promise.

**Sora: **I'M ALIVE! *collapses in exhaustion*

**Robin: **Well, I suppose now I should give the **Disclaimer**, seeing as how Writer-san has worn herself out completely. I know for a fact that Sora-san Does not own any parts of One Piece nor any trademarks of the series. Have a wonderful evening and summer, minna!

* * *

**9. Results**

_~one hour later~_

The deck of the normally rambunctious ship was quiet in tense silence. No crew member was active on the open deck like was normal; most were waiting quietly around the large table in the dining hall, silently awaiting news of their friends. They had been like this for a good hour or so now, since none of the attackers had lived long enough or stayed on board to continue the assault on the Sunny Go, none of the Straw Hats had any need to search them out. The Marine vessel had disappeared as quickly as it had come, but no one took much note on the matter. More pressing matters were at hand, such as the state of their sharpshooter, and captain.

There were five heads in the dining hall, none whom spoke and all attempting to make sense of what had just occurred barely an hour earlier. Robin sat near the head of the table, cradling hurriedly placed bandages from her stab wounds in her right arm. The ache of her pain was nothing compared to the haunted atmosphere around the rest of the pirates.

Nami sat motionless, her blank gaze set on her Log Pose which never moved in the slightest, yet she stared at it as though lost in the delicate glass orb of the compass. Franky's huge torso was bent over the table, drumming his fingers impatiently on the carved wood-work, a frown covering his usually optimistic face. He was the only one moving at all in the crowded room.

Brooke sat near the corner; he had taken out his violin but was unable to find the words to speak, so it remained on the table, silent. Only the swordsman was alone: Zoro was outside, still trying to calm down from his earlier scene. Chopper was operating on Usopp and Luffy individually, though none could say if the condition of either boy at the moment.

Sanji leaned up against the wall, avoiding eye contact, and puffing violently on a cigarette stub as though intent to let all of his anger out on the small nicotine roll. His earlier rage was only quieted by his pressing addiction, and he was contemplating checking on Chopper's progress yet again. His worry for both the young captain and sniper was urgent, but there was also the condition of Sora herself to worry about as well. After the scene which unfolded involving her and Luffy, he was the only one so far to have been able to show any bit of normality towards the younger teen, although it was most likely his natural chivalrous nature which caused him to act the way he had.

_~one hour earlier~_

It was Sanji who had finally realized that someone needed to _do_ something, and had run over to the collapsed boy first. After he moved, the rest followed suit, and all of them tried very hard to keep themselves acting as normal as possible.

No one could look at the girl without a hint of worry, but they all tried to not show their fear as Franky carefully took the bleeding teen from the cook's arms and carried him off to the small doctor. Zoro, in a wave of uncontrolled anger, had marched over to the still kneeling girl on the deck of the ship with a terrifying gleam in his green eyes. Anger made his voice shake somewhat as he yelled words of anger and spite at her small form.

"What the h- was that? What the h- are you trying to pull?" He grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her off of the ground to be at his eye level, and she dangled soundlessly a foot from the ground in his muscled grip. "What did you do to our captain? What did you do to Luffy? You tried to kill him!" He shook her hard, and she still did not reply. Her grey-brown orbs looked vacant, and she simply kept muttering non-coherent words to no one in particular.

"I…I wouldn't…I'm sorry…I…couldn't have…I'm so sorry…" her lean body trembled, and Zoro watched as fat tears began to fall out of her non-blinking eyes, but she seemed not even to hear his words. Unable to sit back and watch, no matter how shocked he was at the display of power earlier, the blonde chef strode over to the swordsman and kicked him soundly in the jaw.

With a sickening crack the steel-toed shoe met with Zoro's face, and for a moment he was stunned into silence. His face did not change in expression, but his grip loosened on the front of her shirt, and his eyes turned away from the small form dangling limply from his grasp. As his fist released the girl, she fell into the suited man's outstretched arms. He grimaced and his malice filled eyes burned daggers into the swordsman's body as he stood there, staring off to the side to avoid looking anymore at her.

The blonde's visible eye became shadowed with cold anger, and his grip on her bent form tightened protectively as he spoke softly towards the swordsman.

"Don't you dare treat a lady like that. _Ever. _Or I swear, I _will _kill you; and Luffy won't be around to stop me." The cook's cool voice held an underlying note of malice which the swordsman knew was true, and Sanji turned away from the silent man and walked towards the medical ward with Sora held firmly in his grasp.

The swordsman was left on deck, surrounded by his comrades who all still were in shock, all of the sudden action having left them breathless and without speech.

It was too much for them to take in at one time, but the stark quiet could not be held. The pain of her ignored injuries being too much for her to hold back any longer, Robin fell to her knees on the upper deck, and gasped with the sting of the wounds. This action allowed the remaining crewmembers to restore a bit of normality to the situation, as Brooke and Nami rushed over to help her to the infirmary.

As Nami helped Robin to her feet by supporting her shoulder and Brooke jumped about nervously attempting to be of some assistance, Zoro was left standing awkwardly in the center of the grassy deck below. The other two, attempting to ignore the swordsman's obvious situation, helped Robin into the dining hall, which left Zoro alone on the deck; his eyes now trained on the grass before his feet.

He glared at the ground, hundreds of different emotions swelling up inside of him, threatening to burst. Zoro was not an emotional man, not anything of the sort. Normally, he would instantly try and kill anyone who claimed him to be a touchy-feely kind of person. But right now…right now he felt like the world had come to an end.

Or, at least, as close to the end as you can get before falling off.

He could not feel his legs, blankly he reminded himself that he should tell Chopper that later, then scoffed at himself in his head. He was angry, angrier than he had been in a long time. He normally looked angry, but right now, he was absolutely PO'd.

He had lost his temper at Sora, he had threatened her right in front of everyone, and then not even done a thing about it. He had let Sanji, that ero-cook, kick him. _Kick him_ – straight in the jaw, and not even bothered to block or fight back. He had put all of the blame on Sora, and he still did, right now. He could not tell what it was, but he just could not think straight at the moment. He was even aware that he had done a horrible, terrible thing right then, but could not think of a way to fix his mistake. Outraged at himself, at Sora, and for the crew for not being able to do anything, he grabbed the hilt of Sandai Kitetsu and in one swift stroke sliced a deep, long gash in the main mast, haphazardly diagonal.

Holding the sword in his left hand, he realized after a minute of standing there, staring at the mark he had made, that he was shaking. His hand was shaking, and with a pained groan, he slowly slid the katana back into its sheath. It was at this moment, the moment that he felt as though he could burst with the unrelenting urge to release these feelings from inside of him, that he screamed.

He yelled, a single, long, and pained scream of pain, and of anguish. So many of the emotions he could not convey echoed in the unnatural sound; sadness for his friends, confusion at this girl, terror at his helplessness, and anger. Anger overran every one, yet he could not even tell what he was angry at, or whom. He did not care, as his holler echoed across the vast ocean, he thought to himself, _let the whole d- crew could hear this weakness, I deserve it. I deserve this_.

Nor did he care about anything else. More than anything, he was scared.

Scared that he would not be able to protect those he cared most about, and those whom he respected, and trusted. He was scared at his own anger, and at his inability to tell what was really happening. He was scared that he would not see his captain's ridiculous, smiling face again. Scared that that long-nosed lying idiot would never cower in fear behind him and the other stronger fighters again, that the liar would not be there to tell about his 'heroic' adventures to the little reindeer who adored him so.

He was scared at his own rage, his rage that he did not know if he could keep it from hurting others. He had come so close to attacking Sora, and gave her no chance at all. He simply blamed everything on her at once, the girl whom he had saved from the Marines, the weird, funny girl who had vanished randomly for a week then returned and startled him so much. The brown-haired girl who had fought with Franky over a ridiculous thing, then come out alive somehow. The girl who had teased with Zoro about his fighting with Sanji, who had come to be so close to all of the crew in the past several days. The girl whose past was as mysterious as her power, whose secrets were as ever changing as those strange, dark eyes of hers.

He couldn't keep his own rage back from hurting her, threatening the girl who only minutes earlier he had been talking to about protecting those you care about, and fighting for what is right.

Zoro clenched his teeth together, and painfully thought about all of these things as they whirled past his overtired brain, and still could not come up with a reason to hate her. But then, why did he hate her so much right now?

Sora, the girl who could actually learn something from Nami about her complicated map-making; who relaxed with Robin and begged her for stories about the world; who fought tooth-and-nail with Franky over absurd things; who even scared Brooke with her demon-face when he tried to look at her panties; who actually taught that blond ero-cook how to cook something half-way decent; who made the little doctor shriek with pleasure and insult her when she complimented him on his extensive knowledge of medicines; and who laughed right along with Luffy and Usopp when they all caught a ridiculously large fish and played pranks on the others.

Sora, who had just gotten Usopp shot in the heart.

Sora, the happy, smiling girl who helped Zoro escape from the Marines when her own life was at risk.

Sora, who had just gotten Luffy possibly killed by the one thing that could not harm him.

Sora, who just wanted to be useful, to protect those she cared most about.

Sora, the terrifying person who tried to kill Luffy with her power.

Slowly turning away from the large gash in the mast, the swordsman walked over to the railing, and stared out over the sea. Letting the ocean breezes waft over his hot, tired body, he tried desperately to calm down. Closing his eyes, he pushed away all other thoughts. He let his mind wander in the darkness he created, let it take his well-trained mental person to a place where he could not be bothered by outside actions. As he sank his body to the green grass, he laid his head against the rail, and let himself automatically move into a meditative state. Now he could think. Now he could figure this issue out, and be done with this irritable mess which that girl had brought with her.

He drifted off in that position, and even Robin, with her many eavesdropping talents, did not spy on the green-haired man as he sat there on deck.

_~One Hour Later (again)~_

The door to the dining hall creaked open slowly as the little reindeer entered the dim room. All eyes were instantly focused on his small form as he carefully walked up to the table and took a seat opposite of the navigator. His small hooves were locked together solemnly, and he did not meet any of the pirates' hopeful eyes.

Franky's drumming stopped as he looked eagerly into the reindeer's downward face, his usual smile absent from his lips. Nami's head snapped to attention, while Brooke and Robin observed quietly, prepared for any news. Sanji's hand tightened around his cigarette stub, and he avoided looking at the doctor's small form.

Taking a deep breath, Chopper spoke. "I finished operating on Usopp and Luffy, to remove the bullets. Luffy's wasn't so bad, the bullet seemed almost to fall out of him, but it had broken off and I had to search for the other fragment. It was imbedded in his left lung, and I was able to remove it. He's stable, but very weak." The doctor turned and looked at the other crew members to see their expressions.

"The fact that it didn't damage his heart was a miracle in itself. The bullet stopped barely a millimeter from the heart; it was very strange. It was…well…" the little doctor glanced nervously at his hooves. "…it was like, he returned to rubber just in time to save his life. Had the bullet pierced his heart in that one spot…" His eyes became lost in the shadow of this large hat. "…I don't think I could have saved him."

Half of a breath was exhaled by the whole room, for they still needed news on the condition of their long-nosed sniper. However, this new information raised an important matter which had questions that had to be answered. Robin watched the little doctor carefully, and finding that he had paused for a moment to gather himself, she ventured a question.

"Doctor-san, are you saying that Sora took captain-san's rubber powers, then returned them right as he was being shot? How is that possible if the bullet was already inside of him?" Robin's question caused a slight changed in the atmosphere. Heads turned towards the small doctor in puzzlement at this problem, and needed answers. He looked down at his hooves again, and with a frown on his face recounted the surgery to the black-haired woman.

"Well, when I was operating, remember how I said that the bullet fragmented and I had to get into his lung to get that other part? Well, it looked to me from the tissue damage that the bullet reached the soft tissue right before the heart; acting like a normal body. Then, just as it made it to the heart, the tissues regained their rubber-like qualities, and so the bullet was bounced back like normal. It broke, and the fragment ricocheted off of two of his ribs and into his lung, with the main half stuck in the position a millimeter from his heart. My theory was proved because when I opened Luffy up, his body was rubber again. When Franky brought him in to me, I almost didn't believe him about Sora doing that to Luffy. But, when I saw the inner bullet damage…I knew that he was telling the truth. The bullet had destroyed tissue just like a normal bullet shot, and injuries don't lie." Chopper stopped for bit, letting this news soak into the people surrounding him.

Considering the information provided by the little doctor, Robin glanced over at Sanji for a moment, her eyes showing her concern for the blonde cook regarding this new development. Hearing that it was indeed Sora who caused this situation to occur could not be easy on the young cook, and she feared that he may react in a similar fashion to their swordsman from earlier. Seeing no change other than he had stopped puffing so heavily on his cigarette, she grew a familiar thoughtful expression on her tan face, one which she adopted when faced with something she had read about and was trying to recall information on that subject. As Robin let her thoughts take her partway from the conversation, Franky grew more and more frustrated.

The blue-haired shipwright was impatient; he had to hear about Usopp's condition and did not like the unnecessary stalling the little deer was doing. He didn't care if it was Sora who had caused this or not, he had quite a one-track mind like a certain straw-hat wearing captain, and he was determined to hear about his good buddy. Smacking his hand down on the table-top, he loudly insisted, "Eh? And what about Usopp-bro? How's he? He's fine, right?" No one spoke, and Chopper's eyes became shielded under the hat once more, until nothing could be seen of his face save his bright blue nose.

"Usopp…is stable. The bullet didn't stay in him, it passed cleanly through, and I managed to patch up his heart where it pierced." Giant, watery brown eyes looked up at the surrounding pirates, too overcome with realization and relief to hold back the steady stream of water now freely flowing down the brown fur. "He's gonna be fine. He just…needs bed rest and medication for the pain…but he'll be fine." He just kept ranting, unable to stop, the happiness finally overtaking him.

As Franky practically lept off of where he was sitting to bring the little pirate into a near death-grip hug, the reindeer began to smile amidst the onslaught of tears and just began chanting, "He's gonna be fine, he's gonna be fine!" Very loudly in celebration and joy. Franky immediately joined him and the duo began rocking back and forth over the table in emotional outbursts as the tense atmosphere in the room dissolved.

Though instead of chanting about Usopp, the cyborg's words also consisted of, "I'm not crying, nobody look at me! I'm not crying, I've got something in my eyes!" as the rest the pirates around the room felt a heavy burden fall off of their shoulders. Nami banged her head on the table wordlessly in irritation, and proceeded to yell at Chopper for 'almost giving her a heart attack', but while she cursed the absent sharpshooter for worrying her, tears ran down her smooth face and she smiled.

Sanji's head dipped a bit further into shadows as a smile broke out across his face, and his one visible eye closed in relief. "Baka…having us worry like that." He muttered to himself. "When he is up and moving again, I'll have to kick his a- for that." His comment, though very quiet, was picked up by the sensitive reindeer ears and caused the concerned doctor to shriek at the cook in comic fear. Madly yelling something like 'you'll do no such thing, he's not even able to breathe properly yet' at the blonde, Sanji had to raise his hands up in an apologetic manner to stop the little deer from wailing his small hooves on him in defiance to the amused threat.

As the skeleton in the corner rose and loudly called for a celebration, carefully picking up his violin and beginning to play a tune with joy and excitement, the quiet historian was left mainly ignored in the developing partying around her. Lost in a world of her own thoughts, she didn't notice their celebrations until a mug was put in-front of her on the table. Looking up for a moment, she saw Sanji, unsurprisingly, and he apparently had decided to reward everybody with special drinks that night for their celebration of the good news on their injured crewmates.

"Robin-schwan, here is a drink I made with all of my HEART!" He spun for a moment in love-mode as he moved to Nami and repeated the procedure, then settled down as he served the other three. Chopper and Franky had apparently decided to forget their earlier outbursts and decided to party well, as they downed their drinks with fervor and unanimously demanded more, for which Sanji yelled at them for. Robin had to smile as she watched her crewmates recover from the flux of events from only a few hours prior. They truly were unlike any others she had seen, she fondly surmised as she watched Nami grow an anger tick at the turquoise-haired cyborg and little doctor as they decided to suddenly have a drink off of cola. As Nami comic-angerly knocked their heads together and they complained, Brooke played on in the background, his tune lively and joyous.

She wondered for a moment whether she should break this happy mood they had recovered, though she knew that the issue would have to come to light at sometime. She could not help but chuckle at their antics, and how easily they came back from the brink of despair. _These people…truly are special. _She decided, for now, to let them be. She would raise the point of what to do about Sora, and revealing more about her powers another time. For now, Robin realized as she looked around her at the smiling faces of her nakama, things had to stay this way. _At least, for a little while longer._

_~Later that evening~_

As the last of the crew to leave the dining hall, Robin walked slowly. Her injured arm had been tended to by a concerned Chopper. It was relieving to hear his squeals of worry over the appendage as she was treated by the young doctor, and was glad that things were beginning to feel back to normal. If Chopper could focus so much energy into just these small wounds, then their captain and sniper were in good enough condition for him to not have to worry.

They had partied all day and into that evening, even though the two of them who had been so horribly injured just that morning were soundly asleep right next door. The doctor had told the others that they were on heavy sedatives, and shouldn't be awake until tomorrow afternoon at the least. Chopper had also announced, after a curious Franky had insisted on seeing his fellow mechanic that evening, no one was to disturb either Luffy or Usopp until they woke up on their own. He insisted that they needed as much rest as possible, and that strain on their bodies was definitely unneeded right now.

He told a disheartened Franky that once they woke up tomorrow afternoon, that they could go in and see them. He also informed the present members that Luffy ought to make a full recovery by the week's end, and Usopp in a few days. Even though Usopp had lost more blood and it was more serious than Luffy's had been, Luffy's body did not have any resistance to bullets, so his condition was more sensitive right now than that of the sharpshooter's. To this information they all cheered and had another round of cola, Sanji having quickly decided to stop serving the boys so much extra drink and kept himself busy tending to dinner and with any needs of the two females.

Earlier in the evening the subject of Sora had been brought up by Sanji, as he was persistent on her condition as well as the other two. Chopper assured him that she was fine; she had just collapsed and needed some rest. They others did not stress the topic and the girl was quickly forgotten in the happy atmosphere of the warm kitchen as Sanji served another round of drinks.

After partying into the night, Nami finally reminded them that they still needed to be on the lookout for more Marine ships, and so they trooped out of the dining hall one by one, each one finished celebrating in his or her own way.

As she passed through the open doorway, she decided to go and read some material on devil fruit powers in the lookout post, as she had already volunteered to have first watch for the evening. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced down to her left, and saw the familiar flash of green which was their swordsman sitting cross-legged and leaning against the wall. Turning her head slightly to face the man, she stated, " I suppose that you already know the condition… of our captain and sharpshooter?"

His closed eyes faced upwards, seemingly ignoring the archeologist's presence. She looked away from his form.

"Then you also now know exactly how our young devil fruit user has fared, and that her power also saved our captain's life." Robin spoke without her usual interested air; it was an air of someone who is trying to be calm, yet the seriousness of her words were meant to hit their mark.

As she began walking towards the Crow's Nest, she heard the swordsman speak in his usual, grumbled tone. "…From when he walked in the door."

Robin kept walking silently, but a small smile played in the corner of her mouth, as faint as it may be.

_~Near midnight~_

The sound of the waves lapping up against the hull created a calming pulse as the pale girl watched the sky grow darker and darker with each passing minute. _Soon, the moon will rise. _She stood leaning against the railing at the bow of the ship, her thoughts entirely on the night. _I wonder if it will finally be full…_ As she calmly gazed at the black night sky, a lone figure's stare followed her silhouette from above, his pale green hair darkened by the absence of light.

It was Zoro's turn for watch, as he had once again declined Robin's offer to take his shift. _She probably only asked because of what happened today with that girl…d-. _Unusual as it may seem, he just couldn't drift off into that quiet sanctuary of sleep. _That's probably a good thing. I mean, I am supposed to be on _watch_ right? It pretty much kills the point if I actually sleep…_ he sighed at this thought, then recalled the real reason he had decided to keep watch: to see _her_. _Oh s-. That sounds so weird, like something that ero-cook would do…jeez. _He sat up straighter as the figure below moved a little, rising up for a moment as though expecting something, then letting her body lay back onto the rail again in apparent disappointment.

_I wonder what she's looking at…or for. _Zoro glanced over to where he assumed her sight to be set on, and frowned. Almost whispering to himself, he murmured "There's not even anything th…" He stopped, noticing a change far in the distance over the water. A bright orb was peaking over the still sea, casting a peaceful glow over the dark waters. It crept higher and higher into the sky with each minute, brightening the ship's deck enough after a while to let Zoro make out her body and facial features. _She's…smiling? _He studied her under this new lighting. Indeed, a hint of a smile played on her lips, and her now fully forest-green eyes seemed to sparkle in the white light casted by the pale sphere.

_Eh? She waited up all this time for the moon… _Muttering something about women and strange behavior he slumped down in his seat in the weight room, still in a position to see the girl below, and contented himself with thinking upon the past week, and today's… events. _I still can't believe that that marshmallow has that kind of power…_ He shifted uneasily around, trying desperately to get into a comfortable position to rest. It didn't work. _Cheh. Whatever…I guess that it just took me by surprise, that's all._ Looking down again at the lone female, he recalled the past week and tried to use that to fall into the void of sleep. _So that's how this craziness started…humph… it figures. Leave it to a girl to screw things up…_

Zoro looked back down through the window to check on the girl below. Craning his neck to get better view he was surprised to find her slumped over the rail, deeply asleep in the same relaxed position that she was watching the sea in. _That's almost as bad as when Ace fell asleep in the middle of the meal…_Zoro thought while sweat-dropping about that particular memory. _Falling asleep while half-standing up and watching the moon…that takes some effort._

He sighed to himself, remembering that stuff like this really shouldn't be coming from a guy who can down more than 20 jugs of ale and still remain completely sober, then sleep through some of the most ridiculous weather patterns on the Grand Line. Sighing to himself, he mentally noted that he should probably go down and get her before she falls off the ship, knowing that she can't swim and all. _That's right…that thing with her…power… Well, that was a shocker…_ Zoro grimaced at the fact; it was only a few hours later and none of the rest of the crew including himself could get over the event, and none of them had been able to really figure out what to make of her now, knowing how dangerous she was.

…_Ug__g…I really should to talk to her. Right now everyone still thinks that I hate her. _He rubbed his head experimentally, and scratched it for a moment as he thought. _Now that I've calmed down, I guess it couldn't hurt to talk to the little shrimp…_ Sighing heavily with the extra effort, he lifted himself off of the bench he had been lounging on and made his way quietly down the rope latter to the deck below. Trying his best to be quiet as he walked up the stairs and approached her smaller form, he walked up beside her and leaned his back against the railing, letting the moonlight hit his dark clothing.

Opening his mouth, he tried to think of how to start out and was lost for words. _What the heck am I doing? What am I supposed to say to her, 'oh yeah, sorry for earlier about yelling like that, I'll try harder to control my anger in the future'? This is ridiculous…I don't even know what to say…_Before he could manage any words, she interrupted his inner controversy.

"It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it Zoro?" He turned his head to the left to stare at her, one eyebrow raised in slight question. Lifting her head off of her arms she looked up at the moon as she spoke, a dreamy sort of expression on her half-awake face. The white light of the perfect circle in the sky shone on her face and clothes brightly, making her pale face seem almost to glow.

The swordsman looked at her, and studied her face for a moment, unsure of what to make of this unexpected question. Then the man turned his head further to follow her gaze upwards. After taking a look at the sphere for himself, he supposed that it was rather a good view from where they were standing on deck. With the pale light shining onto the grass and wooden planks of the deck, it gave the ship an almost ethereal look. He wasn't quite sure how to answer her, but he figured that this was better than him not saying anything at all.

"Yeah…it is, I guess." Both people, girl and man, stood there in silence, staring out over the open water and watching the light of the moon play in the waves of the water below.

"You know…there is a storm coming soon." Without adverting her gaze, she addressed the swordsman with the same calm demeanor as before.

"…huh." He half-grunted in acknowledgment of her words. He also did not look at the girl as he replied. "Well…it's not here yet."

She smiled faintly, enjoying the cool breeze coming across the ocean as it blew through her chocolate and hazel-colored hair. "I guess then…we should enjoy this evening, before it arrives. Ne, Zoro-kun." Her words were more of a statement than a question, but the swordsman replied none-the-less.

"…yeah. It's a d- nice night."

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**A/N: (Ending) **0.0…um…Ooops. Well, I really wanted to get this chapter up tonight, and I am still in the middle of writing the end to this scene so…hehe, I suppose that since like half of the final scene is written, I will decide (FINALLY) on what I want the outcome and plot to be, and I will let it out in the next chapter. Well, this is actually good, in a way. …but dang, I really wanted that final scene in this chapter. Oh well.

I am trying so very hard to make sure that Sora is just like a filler-arc character (You know…one that people actually LIKE for once). That is the way this story is set up: that this is written in the similar style to canon, and that the time sequence is that it could fit snugly between the two major turning-point arcs. That is the whole point.

Which means: 1. She will NOT be permanent member to the crew. That would be lame in my case.

2. She will NOT kill anyone (yes, not even Usopp or Luffy).

3. She will NOT fall in love with any of the crew (not vouching for vise-versa though…hehe).

Also, I am not saying these things because I have been told about them, I am saying them because I want to, and I want to make sure that people understand what I'm doing…since apparently I'm easily misunderstood... Sora is a rather…Unusual OC however. I don't know how it looks to people reading it, but to me, she just Feels different than other OCs I've read/seen. At least, that is how I've tried to make her. Maybe I'm just crazy, but who knows.::

Is anyone out there still ALIVE after reading this really loooooooonnng A/N? Wow…if I were any readers out there, I SO would not want to read this author's note…it is horridly long…There, now that I'm done with my heartfelt and emotional speeches, I will go and eat some chocolate. Laters!


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